Tag: Srila Prabhupada

Kolkata – the blessed city

The Himalayan musk deer teaches a very important lesson of life.  The musk is extremely expensive fetching more than 3 times its weight in gold.  The aroma of the musk is so alluring that when it catches the deer’s nose, he runs frantically in the forest day and night to find its source. Little did he realize that the source of the aroma lies within him. The musk is produced by the gland present in the stag’s navel.

Like the musk deer we also most of the times look outwards instead of inwards. We try to search happiness externally and not internally. The true treasure many a times is very near to us but unware of our surroundings we fail to appreciate it.

Scriptures teaches us that the true treasure is the love of the divine which is within us. The human life is meant to uncover and discover that treasure. On this holy land of India time and again many saintly personalities have appeared to distribute the treasure of divine love. The land where these great saintly persons appear becomes blessed.

The city of Kolkata is sacred because prominent Vaisvana saints Bhaktivinod Thakuara, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada laid the foundation of worldwide Krishna Conscious movement here and distributed the treasure of Krishna’s love all over the globe.

In the present secular world we mostly fail to give importance to spiritual personalities whose only business is to connect the forlorn souls to Krishna. Rather those who assist in gratifying our senses immediately occupies our heart and gain wide acceptability in the society.

So the media and the academia may many time ignore their massive contribution but if we try to study their life, their teachings and their conduct with an open mind then we would find that how these personalities selflessly strived hard to give us unadulterated love of Krishna.

Let us try to analyze the lives of these great saintly personalities who distributed the sublime teachings of the Vedas and how Kolkata occupied its prized position in shaping the future of the worldwide Krishna Conscious movement.

Reestablishing the mission of Lord Chaitanya

After few hundred years of Lord Chaitanya’s disappearance, His pure teachings were lost. Bhaktivinod Thakura aka Kedarnath Datta who appeared in the 19^th century revived the teaching’s of Lord Chaitanya, the writings of Goswamis and prominent acharyas in such a way that the modern secular world could understand it and appreciate it.

When the famous novelist Bankim Chandra wrote a book on Krishna, Krsnacarita, then he being influenced by western scholars had portrayed Krishna as an ordinary person having extraordinary qualities. But when the Thakura came to know about it then for four days without caring for food and sleep, he presented many arguments and logic from the scriptures to convince the famed novelist that Krishna is just not a mortal being but He is the Supreme being. Bankim Chandra incorporated many changes as suggested but when his book was published then the biased scholars criticized it because contrary to their views Krishna was not a mythical or an ordinary person in the book. It was a proof that Thakura was all alone fighting against the forces who wanted to belittle the scriptures. In fact Thakura’s deep scriptural understanding and purity was helping in re-establishing the pure teachings of Lord Chaitanya.

Kolkata becomes the center of the spiritual movement

In Kolkata, Bhaktivinod Thakura wanted to establish a preaching centre. He got a place at 181 Manikatal Street (presently Ramesh Dutt Street). It came to be known as Bhakti Bhavan. The price of the house was Rs 6000.  Many learned persons would assemble for meetings and discussions here and it was here where many books and articles were written.  In 1885, the Thakura opened a press in Bhakti Bhavan and named it Caitanya yantra (Caitanya Press). He started regularly publishing Sajjana – tosani magazine. He published books such as Gita with his commentaries, Sri Caitanya Siksamrta, Sanmodana – bhasyam – a Sanskrit commentary on Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s siksastakam and many more.  He founded Sri Visva Vaisnava Sabha in 1886 in Kolkata in which many educated people became its member.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings reaches west

In 1896 he decided to reach out to the west with his book, Sri Gauranga – lila smarana stotram, which is based on the life and teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and contains 104 Sanskrit slokas. The book begins with 47 page introduction in English entitled – Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts. The introduction was especially meant for the English audience so that they can comprehend the meaning  of the Sanskrit slokas. The book found its place in many educational institutions of the world.  In fact several decades later one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples found it in McGill University in Montreal. In 1896 for the first time the teachings of Lord Chaitanya reached to the western world from Kolkata, it was also the same year when Srila Prabhupada was born in Kolkata who inundated the western world with Krishna Conscious message. Is it mere a coincidence or was Krishna’s plan?

For establishing the temple of Lord Chaitanya

To construct Lord Caitanya’s temple in Mayapur, Thakura began going from door to door in Kolkata. Anand Bazar Patrika wrote on December 6, 1894:  Babu Kedar Nath Dutt, the distinguished Deputy Magistrate, who has just retired from the service, is one of the most active members. Indeed, Babu Kedar Nath has been deputed by the committee to raise subscription in Kolkata and elsewhere and is determined to go from house to house, if necessary, and beg a rupee from each Hindu gentleman for the noble purpose….we hope, no Hindu gentleman, whose house may be honoured by the presence of such a devout bhakta as Babu Kedar Nath, will send him away without contributing his mite, however humble it may be, to the Gaur Vishnupriya Temple Fund.”

The mission continues

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura carried the legacy of his father, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakuras. Acknowledging the fact that Kolkata has been the cultural centre of India,  Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura too established his base in Kolkata.

He established Bhagawat Yantra (Bhagawat Press) in 1913 and Gaudiya Printing Works  in 1923 in Kolkata. He continued publishing many magazines and books including the magazine Sajjana Tosani which he renamed as The Harmonist.

He preached boldly and asked his disciples to not compromise with philosophy at any cost. When his disciples went to Dacca (present day Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh) then they faced huge opposition from the professional gurus. These fake gurus asked people to boycott the preachers and not give them any support – money, place to reside, food, and even water.  The disciples immediately sent a telegram to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati narrating their hardships and in reply he said, “If necessary, survive by drinking the water of the Buriganga, but do not stop distributing the teachings of Lord Caitanya.”

He established Sri Gaudiya Math in Kolkata at No.1 Ultadanga Junction road in 1920, it was later shifted to the marble temple in Baghbazar. The foundation of a new temple at Bag – bazar, Kolkata was laid in September, 1928. When it was finally inaugurated then it attracted large number of people.

On 12 October 1930 the Liberty reported:

On Sunday the 5^th October last the streets of North Kolkata were scenes of a record procession on the occasion of the new Gaudiya Matha constructed in Bag-bazar. Devotees from different provinces of India, viz, Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Madra, United Provinces, and the Punjab had been pouring into Kolkata for days before the ceremony.  The sri – vigrahas of the Gaudiya Matha, Sri Gaura – Vinoda – Ananda Ji, preceded and followed by congregational chant of the holy name….the procession was about two miles long, the whole city seemed to be in a tremor, and it was a sight for the gods to see.

The procession attracted humongous crowd and was so popular that a local theatre replayed film coverage of it for nine consecutive days.

Sowing the seed of worldwide Krishna Conscious movement

Kolkata is the place where Srila Prabhupada was born, he spent his childhood here under the love and care of his father and mother. His father always prayed and asked everyone to bless that his child, Abhay, becomes a devotee of Srimati Radharani. He studied here, got married here and worked here. And most importantly it was in Kolkata he met his spiritual master who planted the seed in his heart to preach the message of Lord Chaitanya. And it was from Kolkata on August 13, 1965 that Srila Prabhupada boarded the cargo ship M V Jaladutta to go to west to lay the foundation of worldwide Krishna conscious movement.

After successfully establishing ISKCON in the west and preaching to tens and thousands of people all over USA and Europe, Srila Prabhupada came to Kolkata to establish first temple of ISKCON in India at 3C Albert Road in 1971. Srila Prabhupada also inaugurated the Kolkata Rath Yatra in 1971.

Kolkata – the blessed city

People who are living in Kolkata are blessed because the beautiful city was chosen by great spiritual personalities to execute their mission. They have revealed to us the treasure of Krishna’s love. Kolkata is also the gateway to Mayapur and within and around Kolkata are many places where Lord Chaitanya, Lord Nityananda and many acharyas have performed many pastimes.

References:

• Seventh_Goswami
• A_Ray_of_Vishnu
• Sri_Bhaktisiddhanta_Vaibhava
• Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita

Krishna and Christ: Are they same or different?

To attain peace and bliss serve Krishna

In spite of 2 heart attacks….he transformed the lives of millions

Exam is essential for a student. It tests his sincerity as well as preparedness. In our devotional journey we too are examined by Krishna. On our way, we may encounter few hurdles; the hurdles are just a test put for us by Krishna to check our commitment and eagerness for devotional life. Sometimes the hurdle may appear to be like a vast ocean but if we remain firm and continue practicing Krishna Consciousness with enthusiasm then the ocean will become a small puddle of water for us.

Krishna provides a glimpse of his mercy through the life of his pure devotees. Srila Prabhupada’s life is an example for us to learn this principle. His spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, had instructed him to go to the west and preach Krishna Consciousness to the western people. At that time he was just 26 years old.  Throughout his life he struggled hard to preach Krishna Consciousness in India but within his heart he always wanted to fulfill the wish of his spiritual master. After a lot of struggle he got an opportunity to travel to the west on a cargo ship. By this time he was about 70 years old but his zest to preach Krishna consciousness in the west was still there. He was having just Rs. 40, no assurance of permanent place to stay, no close relatives to take care, no guarantee of food. He had with him the priceless position – a trunk load of spiritual books.  On the ship he suffered from seasickness, dizziness and loss of appetite. And then he suffered 2 massive heart attacks, the third one would have killed him. But his resolve never waned. On the night of the 2^ndheart attack he saw Krishna in his dream. Krishna was rowing the boat and assured him not to worry because he will take care of him.  And henceforth the journey passed peacefully.

 

Srila Prabhupada transformed the lives of millions of people all over the world.

·         During a short span of 12 years he opened 108 temples all over the world.

·         He wrote and translated around 80 books which include translation of 60 volumes of classic Vedic literatures.  

·         He established ISKCON which has today more than 600 centres all over the world.

·         He founded BBT (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust) which is today the world’s largest publisher of book on Vaisnava philosophy.

·         He introduced Rath Yatra in the western countries. Today in more than 100 major cities of the world Rath Yatra festival is celebrated including London, New York, Washington, Moscow, Los Angles, Durban, Dhaka and in several cities of India.

·         He began BTG (Back To Godhead) magazine in 1944 which is now published in several languages all over the world.

·         Srila Prabhupada’s commentary on Bhagavad – Gita has sold more than 3 crore copies and also have been translated into around 87 languages.

 

Krishna through the life of Srila Prabhupada has shown that obstacles in the life of a devotee may come but if one is sincere and serious then Krishna personally takes charge of the life of the devotee. So when next time we come across any hurdle then we should not get bogged down by it but instead we should endeavour hard to get over it. And we know that Krishna is always there to help us! 

No rejection, all are qualified

Rising above the mode of goodness

Controlling Mind Is So Easy!

Mind always demand for more and more. No matter how much we satisfy it but like a mad elephant it keeps us tormenting. All the crimes which occur are due to the uncontrolled mind. Criminals too are aware about righteous and unrighteous activities. But their unbridled mind drag them towards the hellish path and thus they invite misery for themselves and afflict miseries on others too.

Great personalities throughout ages have accepted this harsh reality. Arjuna too admits it in Bhagavat – Gita – “For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.” Bhagavad – Gita 6.34

Mind can be controlled by intelligence but often mind overpowers the intelligence. However, there is a hope for us. Krishna concedes that controlling mind is difficult, but he also assures us that it is not impossible. Lord Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: “O mighty-armed son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.” Bhagavad – Gita 6.35

Practice

The most potent way of practicing mind control in this age is by chanting the holy names of the Lord like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Along with this we also need to hear more about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, it will purify our consciousness and will nourish our intelligence.

Detachment

Krishna has prescribed vairagyai.e. detachment from material/worldly thoughts and engagement in spiritual activities. Some try to control the mind by trying to create a void in the mind or my emptying the unwanted thoughts. Such a process will not yield any substantial result.  

If we want to light a bulb in the house, then we first connect the plug to the main line. The main line draws power from the power grid and supplies light to us. Similarly, the moment we connect ourselves to Krishna, who is the source of all enlightenment, our intelligence gets nourished and strengthened. All the negative thoughts start vanishing and we get spiritual intelligence. And then by our intelligence we can effortlessly subdue the mind.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “The easiest way to control the mind, as suggested by Lord Chaitanya, is chanting “Hare Krishna,” the great mantra for deliverance, in all humility. The method prescribed is sa vai manah Krishna – padaravindayoh one must engage one’s mind fully in Krishna.” Bhagavad Gita 6.34 Purport

Mind can be our best friend or can be our worst enemy.

If we want mind to be our best friend, we need to follow the footsteps of Arjuna who after hearing the message of Bhagavad – Gita decided to act as per Krishna’s advice. 

Worldly Problems Spiritual Solutions/A seminar at IIT Kharagpur by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj

“Suicide rates are increasing at an alarming rate today. Suicide rates are higher between the age group of 15 – 29. Peer pressure, high academic expectations, job anxiety etc. have been the major reasons for suicide. However, today the situation is so deplorable that young students are ending their life for trivial reasons – an IIT student committed suicide because he was not able to secure admission to the branch of his own choice. Human life is precious, but the youths are getting so overwhelmed by the precarious conditions that they do not hesitate to do the unthinkable.”

The opening speech by Prof. Kanchan Chaudhary, an IIT Kharagpur Professor, echoed the sentiments of several people all over the world.  

The occasion was the seminar organized by IIT KGP on the topic “Wordly Problems, Spiritual Solutions”. The honourable speaker on the occasion was H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj. He is a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada and travels throughout the world spreading the timeless Vedic wisdom.

The program began at 6:30 p.m. in the S.N. Bose auditorium of IIT KGP on 6^th Oct. The auditorium was completely packed with IIT Professors, IIT students and with other staff members of the institute.

H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj said that if we want to understand the problems of this world then we should get into the root of it.  To analyse the root cause of the problems we need to understand – Nature of the Material World, Nature of the soul, Why do the souls (we) come to this material world? & What is our relationship with God, Krishna? We are all parts and parcel of the Supreme Lord but due to our desire to enjoy separately from the Lord we are sent to this material world. For e.g. spark is nothing but fire but when it gets separated from fire and falls on ash then it becomes just like ash. Similarly we are sac – cid – ananda i.e. eternal, blissful and full of knowledge but since we get separated from the Lord, we fall into this material world and we start identifying ourselves with matter. This is the root cause of all sufferings in this world.

H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj further said that our salvation lies in re-establishing our relationship with the Lord. The spark can regain its fiery quality only when it reunites with fire. We can eliminate all our worldly problems and regain our blissful constitutional position if we again re-establish our forgotten relationship with the Lord. And doing this is very easy. H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj then explained that “love” is the inherent quality of a soul. Love unites and hatred separates. So if we want to get united with the Lord then we have to offer our love to Him. Love means action and if we really want to express our love then we need to work for the pleasure of the lord. This is called bhakti.

Such a profound philosophy touched the hearts of every soul who were present in the hall.

After the talk, an unending Questions & Answers session began.  Everyone present had something to ask from the speaker. However lack of time compelled the organizers to stop the Q&A session in the middle.

Prof. Kanchan Chaudhari thanked H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj for sparing his time for this program. He further said that the speaker’s spiritual solution for the worldly problems were both practical and powerful.  He expressed the need for organizing such thought provoking seminars on a regular basis.

 

At the end there was a melodious kirtan of Hare Krishna Mahamntra led by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj. Everyone joyfully participated in the kirtan.

Bhagavad – gita stall was put up outside the auditorium. All the 50 Bhagavad – gita’s were distributed within few minutes. Everyone was eager to imbibe and apply the timeless principles of this great literature in their own lives.

Finally everyone relished the Dinner Prasad.

 

Don’t live but -> Leave

Dare to dry the ocean