From www.recipes.iskcondesiretree.info – Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Diet department

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avināśi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idaḿ tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya
na kaścit kartum arhati

SYNONYMS

avināśi — imperishable; tu — but; tat — that; viddhi — know it; yena — by whom; sarvam — all of the body; idam — this; tatam — pervaded; vināśam — destruction; avyayasya — of the imperishable; asya — of it; na kaścit — no one; kartum — to do; arhati — is able.

TRANSLATION

That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.

PURPORT

This verse more clearly explains the real nature of the soul, which is spread all over the body. Anyone can understand what is spread all over the body: it is consciousness. Everyone is conscious of the pains and pleasures of the body in part or as a whole. This spreading of consciousness is limited within one’s own body. The pains and pleasures of one body are unknown to another. Therefore, each and every body is the embodiment of an individual soul, and the symptom of the soul’s presence is perceived as individual consciousness. This soul is described as one ten-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair point in size. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.9) confirms this:

bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya
śatadhā kalpitasya ca
bhāgo jīvaḥ vijñeyaḥ
sa cānantyāya kalpate

"When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul." Similarly the same version is stated:

keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya
śatāḿśaḥ sādṛśātmakaḥ
jīvaḥ sūkṣma-svarūpo ‘yaḿ
sańkhyātīto hi cit-kaṇaḥ

[Cc. Madya 19.140]

"There are innumerable particles of spiritual atoms, which are measured as one ten-thousandth of the upper portion of the hair."

Therefore, the individual particle of spirit soul is a spiritual atom smaller than the material atoms, and such atoms are innumerable. This very small spiritual spark is the basic principle of the material body, and the influence of such a spiritual spark is spread all over the body as the influence of the active principle of some medicine spreads throughout the body. This current of the spirit soul is felt all over the body as consciousness, and that is the proof of the presence of the soul. Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration. Therefore, consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination, but to the spirit soul. In the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.9) the measurement of the atomic spirit soul is further explained:

eṣo ‘ṇur ātmā cetasā veditavyo
yasmin prāṇaḥ pañcadhā saḿviveśa
prāṇaiś cittaḿ sarvam otaḿ prajānāḿ
yasmin viśuddhe vibhavaty eṣa ātmā

"The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited."

The haṭha-yoga system is meant for controlling the five kinds of air encircling the pure soul by different kinds of sitting postures — not for any material profit, but for liberation of the minute soul from the entanglement of the material atmosphere.

So the constitution of the atomic soul is admitted in all Vedic literatures, and it is also actually felt in the practical experience of any sane man. Only the insane man can think of this atomic soul as all-pervading viṣṇu-tattva.

The influence of the atomic soul can be spread all over a particular body. According to the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, this atomic soul is situated in the heart of every living entity, and because the measurement of the atomic soul is beyond the power of appreciation of the material scientists, some of them assert foolishly that there is no soul. The individual atomic soul is definitely there in the heart along with the Supersoul, and thus all the energies of bodily movement are emanating from this part of the body. The corpuscles which carry the oxygen from the lungs gather energy from the soul. When the soul passes away from this position, the activity of the blood, generating fusion, ceases. Medical science accepts the importance of the red corpuscles, but it cannot ascertain that the source of the energy is the soul. Medical science, however, does admit that the heart is the seat of all energies of the body.

Such atomic particles of the spirit whole are compared to the sunshine molecules. In the sunshine there are innumerable radiant molecules. Similarly, the fragmental parts of the Supreme Lord are atomic sparks of the rays of the Supreme Lord, called by the name prabhā, or superior energy. So whether one follows Vedic knowledge or modern science, one cannot deny the existence of the spirit soul in the body, and the science of the soul is explicitly described in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Personality of Godhead Himself.

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.

Sri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, "Oh JanArdana, what is the name of the EkAdasii that occurs during the light fortnight (sukla paksha) of the month of VaisAkha (April-May)? What is the process for observing it properly? Kindly narrate all of these details to me.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna replied, "Oh blessed son of Dharma, what Vasishtha Muni once told to Lord Ramachandra I shall now describe to you. Please hear Me attentively.

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Unbeknownst to most devotees, Hamsaduta also organized preaching behind the Iron Curtain. Since 1971, Sivananda had been visiting East Berlin. Srila Prabhupada had visited Moscow in the summer of 1971. He met and spoke with Professor Kotovsky (a meeting Krsna Dasa arranged) and accepted a Russian boy as his disciple, Anantasanti Dasa. Hamsaduta made a visit to Moscow at the end of October and took a few books with him. Around the same time, a book fair was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and Cakravarti and Prthu went there to present Srila Prabhupada’s books.

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"What is difficult to achieve for determined men who have taken refuge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s lotus feet? His feet are the source of sacred rivers like the Ganges, which put an end to the dangers of mundane life."

Sri Maitreya Rsi – Srimad Bagavatam 3.23.42

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

Dear Satsangis,

Hare Krishna!! All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru and Gauranga !

Today Thursday April 30, 2009 is the Anniversary of Suresh Babu R.R and Nagalaxmi Suresh Babu.

We request all the Vaishnavas to bestow their blessings on the occasion of this Anniversary.

Join us to beg at the lotus feet of Guru and Krishna and request their causeless mercy and choicest blessings on this couple, to have many more wonderful and blissful years of Krishna Conscious life.

Yours humble servants,
Ruby & Saravana.

From www.recipes.iskcondesiretree.info – Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Diet department

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We are all cautious always in using water and electricity. Everywhere we see the boards and notices in this regard. We are very cautious about using our wealth also. But when we talk to others we don’t have any control and just like a tap without the control valve we go on and on. But the vedic literatures insist that speech must be controlled. That’s why Krishna has given so much protection for the tongue. It is first closed with a set of 32 strong teeth and then covered with lips. No other sense organ is covered like this.

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The small temple room in Spanga, a village near Stockholm, was the converted living room of a house the devotees rented, but Uthala still wanted to set up a sound system to amplify Prabhupada’s morning classes.

However, when Srila Prabhupada began to speak, there was no sound. He tapped the microphone several times and asked Hamsaduta, ‘It is not working?’ Uthala frantically tried to find the cause. He checked the connections, changed leads, twiddled knobs, but without any luck. Prabhupada was annoyed yet amused, and ridiculed the Western mentality of depending on technology, by quoting the last line of a verse by Canakya Pandita-bahvarambhe laghu kriya: the arrangement is very big, grand style, but the outcome is insignificant. "What is the use of keeping big, big paraphernalia?’ Srila Prabhupada asked. "What is the use of keeping a useless machine?" He mentioned the four examples given by Canakya: aja-yuddhe, a fight between two goats; muni-sraddhe, a festival by sages in the jungle; dampatya kalahe, a fight between husband and wife; and megha garjane, thundering clouds in the morning.

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na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaḿ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaḿ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

SYNONYMS

na — never; jāyate — takes birth; mriyate — dies; vā — either; kadācit — at any time (past, present or future); na — never; ayam — this; bhūtvā — having come into being; bhavitā — will come to be; vā — or; na — not; bhūyaḥ — or is again coming to be; ajaḥ — unborn; nityaḥ — eternal; śāśvataḥ — permanent; ayam — this; purāṇaḥ — the oldest; na — never; hanyate — is killed; hanyamāne — being killed; śarīre — the body.

TRANSLATION

For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

PURPORT

Qualitatively, the small atomic fragmental part of the Supreme Spirit is one with the Supreme. He undergoes no changes like the body. Sometimes the soul is called the steady, or kūṭa-stha. The body is subject to six kinds of transformations. It takes its birth from the womb of the mother’s body, remains for some time, grows, produces some effects, gradually dwindles, and at last vanishes into oblivion. The soul, however, does not go through such changes. The soul is not born, but, because he takes on a material body, the body takes its birth. The soul does not take birth there, and the soul does not die. Anything which has birth also has death. And because the soul has no birth, he therefore has no past, present or future. He is eternal, ever-existing, and primeval — that is, there is no trace in history of his coming into being. Under the impression of the body, we seek the history of birth, etc., of the soul. The soul does not at any time become old, as the body does. The so-called old man, therefore, feels himself to be in the same spirit as in his childhood or youth. The changes of the body do not affect the soul. The soul does not deteriorate like a tree, nor anything material. The soul has no by-product either. The by-products of the body, namely children, are also different individual souls; and, owing to the body, they appear as children of a particular man. The body develops because of the soul’s presence, but the soul has neither offshoots nor change. Therefore, the soul is free from the six changes of the body.

In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.18) we also find a similar passage, which reads:

na jāyate mriyate vā vipaścin
nāyaḿ kutaścin na babhūva kaścit
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaḿ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre

The meaning and purport of this verse is the same as in the Bhagavad-gītā, but here in this verse there is one special word, vipaścit, which means learned or with knowledge.

The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore, consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies — whether man or animal — we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the supreme consciousness is all-knowledge — past, present and future. The consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the superior lessons of Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa is not like the forgetful soul. If so, Kṛṣṇa’s teachings of Bhagavad-gītā would be useless.

There are two kinds of souls — namely the minute particle soul (aṇu-ātmā) and the Supersoul (vibhu-ātmā). This is also confirmed in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.20) in this way:

aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān
ātmāsya jantor nihito guhāyām
tam akratuḥ paśyati vīta-śoko
dhātuḥ prasādān mahimānam ātmanaḥ

"Both the Supersoul [Paramātmā] and the atomic soul [jīvātmā] are situated on the same tree of the body within the same heart of the living being, and only one who has become free from all material desires as well as lamentations can, by the grace of the Supreme, understand the glories of the soul." Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of the Supersoul also, as it will be disclosed in the following chapters, and Arjuna is the atomic soul, forgetful of his real nature; therefore he requires to be enlightened by Kṛṣṇa, or by His bona fide representative (the spiritual master).

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.

"How can the fire of material suffering continue to burn the hearts of those who worship the Supreme Lord? The Lord’s lotus feet have performed innumerable heroic deeds, and the beautiful nails on His toes resemble valuable jewels. The effulgence emanating from those nails resembles cooling moonshine, for it instantly relieves the suffering within the heart of the pure devotee, just as the appearance of the moon’s cooling light relieves the burning heat of the sun."

Sri Havir Rsi – Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.54

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

Dear Satsangis,

Hare Krishna!! All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru and Gauranga !

Today Wednesday, April 29, 2009 is the Birthday of Rithvik Menon – S/o Sreelatha Mathaji.

We request all the Vaishnavas to bestow their blessings on the occasion of this birthday.

Join us to beg at the lotus feet of Guru and Krishna and request their causeless mercy and choicest blessings on this soul, to have many more wonderful and blissful years of Krishna Conscious life.

Yours humble servants,
Ruby & Saravana.

Dear Satsangis,

Hare Krishna!! All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru and Gauranga !

Today Wednesday April 29, 2009 is the Anniversary of Shanmugam and Alamelu Shanmugam.

We request all the Vaishnavas to bestow their blessings on the occasion of this Anniversary.

Join us to beg at the lotus feet of Guru and Krishna and request their causeless mercy and choicest blessings on this couple, to have many more wonderful and blissful years of Krishna Conscious life.

Yours humble servants,
Ruby & Saravana.

We are continuing on the topic of Purification of existence.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

6.Speech and Consciousness

For purification of Speech and consciousness we have to refer to the wonderful verse spoken by Maitreya Muni in 3.6.36

tathaapi kirtayaamy anga / yathaa-mati yathaa-shrutam
kirtim hareh svaam sat-kartum / giram anyaabhidhaasatim

"In spite of my inability, whatever I have been able to hear [from the spiritual master] and whatever I could assimilate I am now describing in glorification of the Lord by pure speech, for otherwise my power of speaking would remain unchaste."

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The day after Prabhupada’s meeting with the professors was reserved for a Hare Krsna festival. Posters had been put up all over Stockholm. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, a big harinama party led by Hamsaduta brought the chanting of the holy name to the streets of Sweden’s capital. The devotees were so absorbed in the chanting that they continued it in the festival hall, where another group of devotees was decorating, setting up the sound system, and preparing prasadam.

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From www.recipes.iskcondesiretree.info – Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Diet department

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ya enaḿ vetti hantāraḿ
yaś cainaḿ manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijānīto
nāyaḿ hanti na hanyate

SYNONYMS

yaḥ — anyone who; enam — this; vetti — knows; hantāram — the killer; yaḥ — anyone who; ca — also; enam — this; manyate — thinks; hatam — killed; ubhau — both; tau — they; na — never; vijānītaḥ — are in knowledge; na — never; ayam — this; hanti — kills; na — nor; hanyate — is killed.

TRANSLATION

Neither he who thinks the living entity the slayer nor he who thinks it slain is in knowledge, for the self slays not nor is slain.

PURPORT

When an embodied living entity is hurt by fatal weapons, it is to be known that the living entity within the body is not killed. The spirit soul is so small that it is impossible to kill him by any material weapon, as will be evident from subsequent verses. Nor is the living entity killable, because of his spiritual constitution. What is killed, or is supposed to be killed, is the body only. This, however, does not at all encourage killing of the body. The Vedic injunction is mā hiḿsyāt sarvā bhūtāni: never commit violence to anyone. Nor does understanding that the living entity is not killed encourage animal slaughter. Killing the body of anyone without authority is abominable and is punishable by the law of the state as well as by the law of the Lord. Arjuna, however, is being engaged in killing for the principle of religion, and not whimsically.

Disclaimer: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.Krishna.com. Used with permission.

"Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, the Supreme Person, Mukunda, is actually the maintainer of all the members of the Pandava and Yadu dynasties. He is your spiritual master, worshipable Deity, friend, and the director of your activities. To say nothing of this, He sometimes serves your family as a messenger or servant. This means He worked just as ordinary servants do. Those engaged in getting the Lord’s favor attain liberation from the Lord very easily, but He does not very easily give the opportunity to render direct service unto Him."

Sukadeva Gosvami – Srimad Bhagavatam – 5.6.18

Disclaimer: The daily ‘Vedic thought’ are posted by Deepak Prabhu in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to him and the groups. Hare Krishna.

From www.recipes.iskcondesiretree.info – Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Diet department

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Life in this material world is a constant struggle for existence. From the most powerful Brahmaji right down to the tiniest ant, every living entity is constantly engaged in the quest to survive. As devotees we are faced with our set of unique problems. Perhaps the most daunting problem is – managing our material activities (work, family, etc. ) with our spiritual lives (chanting, reading, programs, etc.) Many a times we start wondering, how to maintain ourselves while engaging in devotional service.

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