Friday 30 March 2007
New informal photos posted by Jamuna Priya Devi at Veranda Views available here.
Some really beautiful pictures also were posted by Gaurachandra Prabhu at paramakaruna.org.ve. This site really should be browsed extensively because there is just so much inspiring devotional activities happening in the Spanish-speaking part of our global community, it is so inspiring!
As well as the above, there are also pictures and reports posted from around the world. View the rest of this article for all the links. I'm including them here for my own archive 
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Friday 30 March 2007
Audio: "Search for Sri Krishna, reality the beautiful, and beauty is controlling everything
-- this is Srila Guru Maharaj's expression. But in which way will
beauty come to us? Beauty will come through love, through affection.
But the first condition there is devotion. Devotion will come through
dedication. Then all is related: love, affection, beauty, charm,
everything." Srila Govinda Maharaj, morning darshan, 11 March 2007.
(42 minutes, 4.9 MB mp3 audio also in higher quality: 9.7 MB.)
Audio: "Today is a very auspicious and fortunate day
for sincere seekers and the devotees and the people of this world." Sri
Gaura Purnima 2007, afternoon/evening programme in the nat mandir. 3
March 2007.
(Full audio, 66 minutes, 7.6 MB mp3 audio also in higher quality: 15 MB.)
Audio: "You will be qualified to do sankirttan if you will hold these three qualities:
you must try humility, tolerance and giving honour to others. These
three must be, otherwise you will not be successful. This is
Mahaprabhu's directive." Srila Govinda Maharaj, morning darshan, Sri
Gaura Purnima, 3 March 2007.
(20 minutes, 2.3 MB mp3 audio also in higher quality: 4.7 MB.)
Audio: "We are the servitors of Lord Krishna,
we are members of the transcendental world. Everything will appear to
us when we will chant the Holy Name of Lord Krishna. For that
Mahaprabhu said this is the super possibility. Super opportunity we
will get through that." Srila Govinda Maharaj speaks and sings at a
special programme in the nat mandir on the eve of Sri Gaura Purnima, 2
March 2007.
(17 minutes, 2 MB mp3 audio also in higher quality: 4 MB.)
Audio: "Today is the Adhivas of Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama. We
are all so fortunate that we join in this parikrama by the grace of
Srila Guru Maharaj, Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar
Dev-Goswami, especially by order of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur and
Bhagavan Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's divine grace and
mercy." Srila Govinda Maharaj speaks and sings at the evening nat
mandir programme, followed by addresses by Sripad B.S. Goswami Maharaj
and Sripad B.B. Avadhut Maharaj. 26 February 2007.
(51 minutes, 5.9 MB mp3 audio also in higher quality: 11.8 MB.)
Audio: Bengali address by Sripad B.N. Acharyya Maharaj at the Adhivas of Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama meeting in the nat mandir.
(8 minutes, 1 MB mp3 audio)
Audio: Inauguration of Srila Gurudev's new 'darshan area'
on the roof of his veranda in Nabadwip. A special 9am programme
arranged personally by His Divine Grace. Srila Govinda Maharaj sings Emana durmmati... and Ki jane ki bole...
then gives a brief history of Sri Nabadwip Dham Parikrama at Sri
Chaitanya Saraswat Math, followed by lectures by Sripad B.S. Goswami
Maharaj and Sripad B.P. Janardan Maharaj. The programme concludes with
kirttan led by Srila Gurudev. 24 February 2007.
(Full audio, 56 minutes, 6.5 MB mp3 audio also in higher quality: 13 MB.)
Audio: "We are trying happily no doubt
but in the middle some disturbance is always coming in somewhere. That
we can cross through our sadhana.... If you are angry but you control
your anger it is sadhana; if you are greedy to eat or want but if you
control your own self, that is sadhana." Srila Govinda Maharaj's
morning darshan 4 February 2007.
(37 minutes, 4.4 MB mp3 audio also in higher quality: 8.7 MB.)
Tuesday 27 March 2007
An excerpt from Divine Aspiration by Swami B.R. Sridhar
Student: Srila Guru Maharaj, in the Ganesha-kanda section of Brahma-vaivarta Purana, the history of Sri Parasaurama is related. I read there that Lord Siva gave Parasaurama a protective mantra, a Krsna-kavaca. But one devotee told me that in this Age, Kali-Yuga, the only really potent kavaca is Narasimbha-kavaca. My question is: what is true about these kavacas? Is it possible in the present day for anyone to be given, or to accept, these kavacas that appear in the ancient scriptures? Is it necessary or practical?
Srila Sridhar Maharaj: The use of kavacas is, on the whole, an external affair. The Mantra (Gayatri) and the Nama (Hare Krishna) are all-useful and all-powerful, and using the kavaca to help externally is a thing of minor importance. The nama, the Lord's Name, and the Lord whose Name it is are one and the same; that is enough. It is sufficient, complete. In the mundane world to help us we can sometimes accept the kavacas, but that is not of very great importance. We may accept either krsna-kavaca or narasimha-kavaca to help our bhajan (worship), but not at the cost of faith in the divine Name, nama-bhajan, which is the best of all; even the (Gayatri) mantra is to help the nama-bhajan.
Krsna-mantra haite habe samsara-mocana
Krsna-nama haite pabe krsnera carana
(Cc. Adi-lila 7.73)
"Simply by chanting the Holy Name of Krishna one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord."
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Friday 23 March 2007
An afternoon talk of 11 August 2003 in St. Petersburg, Russia, on His Divine Grace's 20th World Tour
All creation is for Lord Krishna's enjoyment
Attachment will not come from one side; it will come from both sides. All living entities come from the Source of Power, the Centre. There everyone has a feminine form. Male and female are the cause of creation, and it comes from the power of Krishna. Then, for the divine pastimes of Krishna, and activated through the will of Krishna, some in the transcendental world are getting male forms and some female forms. For the enjoyment of Lord Krishna all creation has happened. But when the jiva souls are misguided by the illusory power, they are thinking they are the enjoyers. That is the difficulty in this material world. Then both sides - the female side for the male and the male side for the female - both are obstacles for the service to Lord Krishna in practising life.
Actually, Srila Prabhupad Saraswati Thakur said the enjoyer is Krishna, and the suppliers of enjoyment are the living entities and the creation of the Lord. 'Pratishta' means fame, 'kanak' means wealth, and 'kamini' means the tendency to enjoy with everyone. This is the material world. These are obstacles to the full transcendental service plane. We will try to engage ourselves in the service of the Lord with everything. Then nothing will be an obstacle in our life.
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Sunday 11 March 2007
Ananta Rupa Prabhu gave a necatarine reading from Search for Sri Krishna, Reality the Beautiful by Swami B.R. Sridhar.
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Sunday 11 March 2007
Lots of nice pictures of Gurudeva and the devotees from Nabadwip Gaura Purnima celebrations posted at Veranda Views
Saturday 10 March 2007
Part two of an excerpt from
Heart and Halo by Srila B.R. Sridhar. Part one can be found
here.
The Lord Himself says:
mad citta mad-gata-prana, bodhayantah parasparam
kathayantas ca mam nityam, tusyanti ca ramanti ca
(Bhagavad-gita 10.9)
“The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.” So, in the association of the
sadhus, to discuss about Him from different standpoints is not ‘knowledge’ to be abandoned; rather it should be spontaneously and naturally encouraged. It is called
istha-gosthi: gosthi means “combination” and
istha, “desirable company.” In that association we must talk about Him. That is a necessary part of devotion. And when
bhava-bhakti (true devotional feeling) awakens, automatically these things will come:
ksantir avyartha-kalatvam viraktir mana-sunyata
asa-bandhah samutkantha nama-gane sada rucih
asaktis tad-gunakhyane pritis tad vasati-sthale
ityadayo ’nubhavah syur jata-bhavankure jane
(Sri Bhakti-rasamita-sindhuh 1.3.25-26)
“When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krishna fructifies in the heart of the devotee, the following symptoms naturally manifest in his behavior: he feels forbearance; he doesn’t like to waste any time; he is detached from the mundane; he is free from pride; he lives in full hope; he is always eager to serve; he always has a taste for chanting the Lord’s Name; he loves to tell of the Divine qualities of the Lord; and he loves the Holy Abode of the Lord. These nine are called anubhava, subordinate signs of ecstatic love.”
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Monday 05 March 2007
Above is the very end of the Kirtan following Sarvabhavana Prabhu's talk. Both talks are in MP3 format below.
Soquel talk by Sripad Sarvabhavana Prabhu and kirtan following the talk.
San Jose talk by Sripad Pusta Krishna Prabhu, with kirtans.
Monday 05 March 2007
I'm a terrible photographer but did snap some photos you can find
here. If anyone has more photos they would like posted I'd be very happy to host them, just send an email using the Contact link above.
Friday 02 March 2007
More pictures from the festival are available at
Veranda Views.
Thursday 01 March 2007
An excerpt from
The Golden Volcano
by Swami B.R. Sridhar
At the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's advent, Bengal had fallen far away from Krsna consciousness. The people of the day had become so much degraded that they would pass their time spending money like water to see the marriage of cats. Deviating from the worship of the Supreme Lord, Krsna, they used to worship the serpent-god, Visahari, or the controller of the demons, Kali. Very rarely would the name of Krsna be heard from their lips. Only a few of the Hindu gentlemen, when bathing in the Ganges, would chant the holy name of Govinda, Hari, or Krsna. And Navadvipa dhama, the place of advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, was under Mohammedan rule in those days. The Kazi was in power in Navadwipa, and the Hindu's religious feelings were checked by the strong hand of his Islamic rule.
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