Spiritual Advancement

September 25, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Spiritual Advancement

By Narasimha das

“All these are pitfalls of personal sense gratification. Just to cheat some innocent people, one makes a show of advanced spiritual life and becomes known as a sadhu, mahatma or religious person. All this means that the so-called devotee has become victimized by all these unwanted creepers and that the real creeper of bhakti-lata-bija has been stunted.”  (Cc. Madhya 19.160, PURPORT) See purport below.

Any intelligent devotee who knows iskcon history since 1978 to the present day can easily understand the meaning and context of the above statement and how it applies to many or most iskcon leaders. But the question has been raised whether the “innocent people” who follow such posers can make tangible spiritual advancement. Any devotee or group can ask others to chant Hare Krishna and begin devotional life but not every sanga can assist us to advance further. Unless innocent people learn to follow the self-realized acharya and hear from him with rapt attention, they risk losing their innocence by associating with offenders posing as sadhus. This is practically seen all over the world, and most of these innocent people end up leaving the mission or compromising with deviants.

It may be wrong to suggest that because we might not be perfect we therefore have no right to preach or judge who is making spiritual advancement– and who is on a deviant path that leads to degradation. It’s our duty as disciples to try to protect our own devotional service and the mission of the guru. How to do this? We must discriminate to understand and preach the correct path. We must accept the right association with genuine devotees. If we are content remain in a blind society of pretenders, we may leave the path of devotional service and fall down completely.

Srila Prabhupada once said, “I may be perfect or I may not be perfect, but I am repeating the message of the all-perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead without the slightest change. That is perfect.” Read the rest of this entry →

Srila Namacarya Haridasa Thakura Tirobhava Tithi [disappearance] – Tuesday, September 5, 2017 [Mayapura, West Bengal, Bharata Bhumi time]

September 4, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa, Yasoda nandana Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

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Foundations of Knowledge: The Path of Reality

September 4, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Foundations of Knowledge: The Path of Reality

By Narasimha das

Many dishonest atheists pose as scholars or even brahmins and Vaishnavas. Srila Prabhupada indicated that these kinds of hypocrites are even more dangerous than avowed atheists who simply do not believe in God or religion in any shape or form. Poser atheists sometimes challenge faithful devotees, saying, “What is the use your sentiment and mythologies? Can you predict an eclipse or create a space shuttle? Better you worship scientists, who can make our lives free and easy.”

One infamous atheist posing as a sadhu (Vivekananda) advised devout Hindus to uproot their sacred Tulasi plants and grown eggplants instead. He proposed that growing eggplants would be of more consequence that growing Tulasi. Similarly, other atheists advise, “Go to the forest and practice vanaprastha so you don’t disturb others with your fanatical religious ideas. Join an assembly of sages in the jungle– because a festival of sages in the jungle will be of no consequence and thus will not disturb our advanced scientific society.

Srila Prabhupada has often countered the assertion that devotees are “idiots” or “blind” followers. “The way of devotional service in neither sentimental nor mundane. It is the path of reality by which the living entity can attain the transcendental happiness of being freed from the three kinds of material miseries… The argument that unless one has proper knowledge one cannot be freed from material miseries is undoubtedly true. But because the lotus feet of the Lord are full of transcendental knowledge, acceptance of His lotus feet completes that necessity… There is no want of knowledge in the devotional service of Vasudeva, the personality of Godhead. He, the Lord, personally takes charge of dissipating the darkness of ignorance from the heart of a devotee.  He confirms this in Bhagavad-gita (10.10)”: Read the rest of this entry →

Moon Madness

August 29, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Moon Madness

By Narasimha das

Recently I heard an odd accusation from a so-called senior devotee. He suggested that those who teach what Srila Prabhupada taught or repeat what he said about various controversial facts are trying to embarrass Srila Prabhupada because they hate Srila Prabhupada and His mission. This came up recently because some devotees in the Hare Krishna Society sent out excerpts from Bhagavatam regarding eclipses. They did this apparently in response to the recent eclipse-event mania, wherein hundreds of thousands of people drove hundreds of miles, both north and south, to bask in the darkness of a total solar eclipse.

Apparently this above-mentioned devotee is himself embarrassed by some of Srila Prabhupada’s statements and teachings, which he believes are obviously mistaken and should therefore be hidden, ignored, or totally forgotten. Those who aspire to create their own congregations worry that talk of certain subjects will scare away potential converts and thus impede their own sense gratification in the name of preaching. Read the rest of this entry →

Srila Prabhupada and Prahlada Maharaja

August 21, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Dear Srila Prabhupada,

Please accept millions of my prostrated obeisances at your most divine lotus feet. Please forgive my millions of offenses at your feet. My mind remains attached to matter in spite of all your good instructions.

You once wrote me and said, “Please study all of my books very thoroughly.” I have tried to do that, although insufficiently to fully control my turbulent mind, which is harder to control than the wind. The only hope for me is full engagement in your transcendental service. Your mercy is the only hope for all conditioned souls. You are the real acharya for this age. You once wrote to leading preachers in ISKCON and asked, “What is the use of so many devotees if none of them are knowledgeable?” I hope to one day become your useful disciple. Read the rest of this entry →

Jewels of South India

August 16, 2017 in Articles, Narasimha Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Jewels of South India:

Ram Pujan Das and Madhuvan Ashram

By Narasimha das

 

I have been going to South India since 1975.  After Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, I began wondering if I might ever be fortunate enough to meet, in this life, face to face another self-realized pure devotee. In the past people went to holy places to meet genuine sadhus who would instruct them regarding the path of liberation and devotional service. It is mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam that pure devotees, such as Mahatma Vidura, go to holy places to purify and protect such places, whereas most pilgrims burden these places by their sinful reactions.

I never had any illusions about meeting a sadhu as exalted as Srila Prabhupada, or even close. Indeed, I was usually disappointed with the people I met in the dress of sadhus. Nonetheless, I remained confident that realized sadhus still existed in India—even though they may be rare or hard to find, like hidden gems. Read the rest of this entry →

Sri Syamananda Goswami tirobhava tithi [disappearance day] – Saturday, June 10, 2017 [Mayapura, West Bengal, Bharata Bhuimi time]

June 11, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa, Yasoda nandana Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Srila Prabhupada explains the exalted position of Shyamananda Goswami
compiled by Narasimha dasa and Yasoda nandana dasa

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Honesty

May 30, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Preaching in favorable fields.

April 7, 2017 in Articles, Narasimha Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

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Sri Bhisma Astami February 4, 2017

February 5, 2017 in Narasimha Dasa, Yasoda nandana Dasa by Yasoda nandana dasa

Saturday, February 4, 2017 [Mayapura, West Bengal, India time]
Sri Bhisma astami
 
Srila Prabhupada glorifies Bhisma and his passing away

compiled by Narasimha dasa and Yasoda nandana dasa

Srila Prabhupada glorifies Bhisma and his passing away
Books : Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 1:”Creation” : SB 1.8: Prayers by Queen Kunti and Pariksit Saved : SB 1.8.47 : PURPORT :
King Yudhiṣṭhira, though he was not expected to become aggrieved like a common man, became deluded by worldly affection by the will of the Lord (just as Arjuna was apparently deluded). A man who sees knows well that the living entity is neither the body nor the mind, but is transcendental to the material conception of life. The common man thinks of violence and nonviolence in terms of the body, but that is a kind of delusion. Everyone is duty-bound according to one’s occupational duties. A kṣatriya is bound to fight for the right cause, regardless of the opposite party. In such discharge of duty, one should not be disturbed by annihilation of the material body, which is only an external dress of the living soul. All this was perfectly known to Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, but by the will of the Lord he became just like a common man because there was another great idea behind this delusion: the King would be instructed by Bhīṣma as Arjuna was instructed by the Lord Himself.
 
 
dṛṣṭvā nipatitaṁ bhūmau
divaś cyutam ivāmaram
praṇemuḥ pāṇḍavā bhīṣmaṁ
sānugāḥ saha cakriṇā
 
SYNONYMS
 
dṛṣṭvā—thus seeing; nipatitam—lying down; bhūmau—on the ground; divaḥ—from the sky; cyutam—fallen; iva—like; amaram—demigod; praṇemuḥ—bowed down; pāṇḍavāḥ—the sons of Pāṇḍu; bhīṣmam—unto Bhīṣma; saanugāḥ—with the younger brothers; saha—also with; cakriṇā—the Lord (carrying the disc).
 
 
TRANSLATION
 
Seeing him [Bhīṣma] lying on the ground, like a demigod fallen from the sky, the Pāṇḍava King Yudhiṣṭhira, along with his younger brothers and Lord Kṛṣṇa, bowed down before him.
 
PURPORT
 
Lord Kṛṣṇa was also a younger cousin of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira as well as the intimate friend of Arjuna. But all the family members of the Pāṇḍavas knew Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord, although conscious of His supreme position, always behaved in a humanly custom, and so He also bowed down before the dying Bhīṣmadeva as if He were one of the younger brothers of King Yudhiṣṭhira. Srimad-Bhagavatam : Canto 1:”Creation” : SB 1.9: The Passing Away of Bhismadeva in the Presence of Lord Krsna : SB 1.9.4
 

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