tapāmy aham ahaḿ varṣaḿ
nigṛhṇāmy utsṛjāmi ca
amṛtaḿ caiva mṛtyuś ca
sad asac cāham arjuna

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"If one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the controller of all controllers, one can understand everything else."

Mundaka Upanisad

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.

I apologise for not sending any emails since the last update. I have been mostly in Nasik and then in Bhaktivedanta Hospital trying to serve Gurudev.

Gurudev’s purity and transcendence is truly bewildering for me to understand. His lila of showing us the way to tolerate apparent sickness and disease continues everyday. As his disciples, we must truly be blessed to be present and be a part of Gurudev’s lila.

Transcendence in Action – Part 2 [granthraj]

Transcendence in Action [granthraj]

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gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī
nivāsaḥ śaraṇaḿ suhṛt
prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaḿ
nidhānaḿ bījam avyayam

pitāham asya jagato
mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ
vedyaḿ pavitram oḿkāra
ṛk sāma yajur eva ca

ahaḿ kratur ahaḿ yajñaḥ
svadhāham aham auṣadham
mantro ‘ham aham evājyam
aham agnir ahaḿ hutam

Citing a simile from Bhagavad-gita, he has told us that the material world is like a banyan tree with its roots above and branches below. A tree appears this way when pervertedly reflected in water. In the material world, everything is topsy-turvy; what is bad appears desirable, and what is actually desirable appears repugnant. When I see Swamiji taking rest just as most New Yorkers are indulging their senses, and getting up to render Krishna service just when they are taking rest, I’m reminded of the Bhagavad-gita verse: "What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."

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In the last few days Maharaj has not been doing well physically and was going through critical hours on 24, 26 and 27(especially) dec. The oxygen saturation is still affecting Maharaj but being transcendental he does not bother about it much at all. In the recent incident on 24th dec Maharaj’s breathlessness was very severe in the afternoon and he conceded after repeated plea from devotees, for visit of doctor. The doctor advised that he should be admitted to hospital immediately. Again the devotees pleaded and Maharaj conceded to go to hospital after some time. In the hospital Maharaj was given injection and he got some relief. As soon as he recovered in the evening, Maharaj gave class for 25 minutes on BG 5.26 to devotees and doctor in the hospital. The doctor got bewildered by this action and asked Maharaj, "Are you the same person in the afternoon who was suffering from breathlessness?!!". Maharaj is revealing to us his transcendental position even though we neither deserve it nor understand it.

Transcendence in Action [granthraj]

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"One who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify, and also remember the supreme lord, who is supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries."

Sukhdeva Gosvami – Srimad Bhagvatam 2.1.5

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.

Although I’ve been chanting since July, the cosmos has not unfolded psychedelically before me, as I had hoped. What am I doing wrong? Why haven’t I seen that apocalyptic vision witnessed by Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra? Where is that virat-rupa, the Universal Form containing myriad eyes, hands, heads, and flaming mouths devouring worlds?

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jñāna-yajñena cāpy anye
yajanto mām upāsate
ekatvena pṛthaktvena
bahudhā viśvato-mukham

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This mail is in continuation of the transcription of Maharaj’s lecture on Bhagavad Gita verse 5.6.

Renunciation – Part 1 [granthraj]

sannyaasas tu mahaa-baaho / duhkham aaptum ayogatah
yoga-yukto munir brahma / na cirenaadhigacchati 

Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in the devotional service of the Lord cannot make one happy. But a thoughtful person engaged in devotional service can achieve the Supreme without delay.

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"Even if one distributes ten million cows in charity during an eclipse of the sun, lives at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna for millions of years, or gives a mountain of gold in sacrifice to the brahmanas, he does not earn even one hundredth part of the merit derived from chanting Hare Krishna."

Srila Sanatana Gosvami – Laghu Bhagavatamrta

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.

satataḿ kīrtayanto māḿ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māḿ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

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In the evening, sitting on a little bench out in the courtyard, Swamiji tells us that if he could just make one person Krishna conscious, he would consider his mission successful.

"Now more people are coming to the kirtans because we are getting some notice in the papers," he says. "But because I do not lie to them and tell them they can be Krishna conscious while having sense gratification, they go away. What am I to do? Change Krishna’s message to suit Americans? That cannot be done. It is not my message to change. I can only deliver it as it is. If I have to sit under a tree with just one sincere disciple, that will be all right. We do not require many stars. just one moon. One moon will light up the sky. "

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Dear Satsangis,

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

Wed Dec 30, 2009 is the Anniversary of Bhakta Amit Vardhan & Bhaktin Arti Vardhan.

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.

"Sri Jagadisa Pandita is the savior of the world. He distributes the nectar of love of Krsna just like a dense mass of dark clouds in the sky distributes rainfall." [C.c. Adi 11.30] Sri Jagadisa Bhatta took his birth in the region of Gaihati. His father’s name was Sri Kamalaksa Bhatta, who was the son of Bhatta Narayana, who hailed from Goyghar Bandyaghata. Both the mother and father of Jagadisa were very devoted Visnu-bhaktas. After his parents passed away he came with his wife to live on the banks of the Ganges. His wife’s name was Dukhini-devi. (His younger brother Mahesa also came with him to reside on the banks of the Ganga.) They built their house near the home of Jagannatha Misra. Sri Gaurasundara instructed Jagadisa to preach Hari Nam at Nilacala. Thus he took shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Jagannatha. At that time he prayed at the feet of Lord Jagannatha and was rewarded by obtaining a Deity of the lotus-eyed Lord. This he brought to Yasora, on the banks of the Ganga near Cakdaha. This Deity was brought suspended from a staff which is still being worshipped in the temple of Lord Jagannatha at Jasora. This temple is presently under the charge of Sri Gaudiya Math, and is a rickshaw ride away from Cakdaha railway station, on the Sealdah-Krsnanagar line.

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"If one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, very quickly he is cleansed of all offenses. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God."

Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami – Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 8.31

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.