Comments Posted By yadavendra das
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“Apaishunam means that one should not find fault with others or correct them unnecessarily. Of course to call a thief a thief is not faultfinding, but to call an honest person a thief is very much offensive for one who is making advancement in spiritual life.” What more can I say?
In service to Srila Prabhupada and His faithful followers,
Yadavendra Das, Brisbane, 12 July 2012.Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare HareComment Posted By yadavendra das On 14.07.2012 @ 11:30
Part 2
Krishna’s satisfaction is priceless.Just now, I cannot see how one can have illicit sex for Krishna. Just now, I cannot see how one can take intoxication for Krishna. Just now, I cannot see how one could eat meat for Krishna, (even though Srila Prabhupada shouted at Harikesa Prabhu:” Then you just eat meat!” when he was asked to go to the former USSR and was arguing with Srila Prabhupada.)
But as I have described in my article, a Krishna conscious person may safely and purely gamble for Krishna under specified and quite seldom circumstances. But the general rule is and remains, and I stress this point: “No gambling, please”. Every set of circumstances is to be judged by its own merit. It will depend on our development in Krishna consciousness and certainly before acting in these tricky situations, one should always hear the good counsel of senior devotees, especially the Spiritual Masters. “If you don’t know, don’t act” seems to be a safe maxim in this respect.As far as obtaining a fruit for our endeavors, as you perfectly well know, Krishna is not our order supplier! It is not that because we make some small endeavor that He is duty bound to supply a nice result for our good or false prestige and self-satisfaction. No. We faithfully keep on endeavoring in Krishna’s service with determination, whether or not He gives the desired result. We are bhakti-yogis and:
“The yogis, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.” Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, text 5.11.
So whether or not there is an external result and whatever its nature, the internal result of purification is always granted, as you have commented.
But a mistake it was not, and I hope you will appreciate the incident at its true value after understanding this message.
Thank you again for your motherly concerns.One more thing, please. This is very important. As far as your comments about hypocrisy are concerned, as honest and well-meaning devotees, we should be very, very careful before leveling charges of any kind at anyone, especially wholesale or blanket accusations as you are doing. I am sorry, but this is totally unacceptable! Recklessness in this field can lead us into very embarrassing situations. Please always remember that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Srila Prabhupada writes in Bhagavad-Gita As It Is 16. 1-3, purport:
continuedComment Posted By yadavendra das On 13.07.2012 @ 10:46
Hari!
Dear Mother Tulasi,Please accept my respects and thank you very much for taking the trouble to post a comment on my article “Gambling for Krishna”.
I admit it. This is the only article, which I hesitated to release.
Openness is a good policy, I believe. In the former Soviet Union, it was called “glasnost”. And I would say, Iskcon needs more “glasnost.” After all, the great majority of people are nice and sensible. And Krishna, in His Supersoul expansion, is situated in everyone’s heart. So there really is no need for fear, as we are never in foreign lands. It is all Krishna’s.
We do not follow the rules and regulations of Krishna consciousness just for the sake of them. Out of two meanings given in the Nectar of Instruction, text two, the opposite proposal represents one meaning of “niyamagraha”, and it is condemned therein. The other meaning is outright rejection of the rules and regulations, which of course, is also condemned. Here is the verse:
atyähäraù prayäsaç ca
prajalpo niyamägrahaù
jana-saìgaç ca laulyaà ca
ñaòbhir bhaktir vinaçyatiOne’s devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) Practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krishna consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.
“Niyamagraha” can also be translated as “dogmatic” or even “fanatic.” Unfortunately, we may come across this regrettable attitude in all sphere of life, not just religion. To follow the rules and regulations is not the ultimate goal. To please Krishna is the ultimate goal. We follow the rules of Krishna consciousness to please Krishna via the pure medium of the bona fide Spiritual Masters. The gopis violated the rules of etiquette to please Krishna by offering the dust of their lotus feet to cool His head. “O what an horrific thing to do!” And no one but the gopis agreed to Sri Krishna’s request, even at the risk of being condemned. That was Krishna’s special tricky request to find and show who where His best and closest devotees. Continued.
Comment Posted By yadavendra das On 13.07.2012 @ 10:42
Dear Praghosa Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances and all glories to Srila Prabhupada, the Founder Acarya of Iskcon and Institutor of the BBT.
Your article is so excellent and faithful that at first I thought that your leitmotiv and last paragraph was a Srila Prabhupada quote. I started to search for the exact source. But it is not! It is your own creation. Congratulations to you!!!
It is true that the Krishna Consciousness Movement as our revered and adored Srila Prabhupada has given it is offering all the solutions to the global problems in a seed and may be even in a creeper form. But for that creeper to become fully manifest to the world, we, followers of Srila Prabhupada must produce our utmost efforts, and sometimes even more than that, to follow Srila Prabhupada instructions and orders to the fullest extend. Srila Prabhupada in his written legacy has truly given everything, all instructions to direct our lives down to the minutest details. It is our duty to “scrutinizingly” (His own adverb) mine Srila Prabhupada’s books and find these intructions for ourselves. It is not good enough to simply accept the positions and enjoy the privileges there-attached and be complacent. We must also accept the corresponding duties and responsabilities very, very staunchly and seriously. These he has clearly delineated, especially in the letters, I find. In that respect we may also learn very much from the so called “karmis”, a word sometimes used in a derogatory sense in Iskcon cirles. Then everything, including the impossible will happen by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The above are general remarks only and not to taken as personally directed towards your respected self.
Hope you are well, Prabhu.
In service
Yadavendra Das (acbsp)Comment Posted By yadavendra das On 14.07.2010 @ 09:48
How could Lord Krsna let this happen
I have noticed that His Holiness Bhakti Swarupa Damodar Maharaj in his 2006 Vyasapuja offering expresses grave concerns about the trend and danger of misleading within our Iskcon society. I quote verbatim the essential passage of his offering on page 12.
“When people misinterpret Your divine teachings and instructions, it can cause many difficulties and it may mislead many innocent seekers of truth. Therefore it may not serve the purpose of Your divine mission. Such a trend in our society can only be corrected by understanding and following the direct instructions of Your Divine Grace.
I am directly appealing to Your Divine Grace for Your kind mercy to all of us so that we can all properly understand Your divine instructions directly. Without this understanding, when some individuals misinterpret Your divine instructions, it will cause great disturbance and the truth may be lost. This danger is there.”
I would like to ask the following question:
“Could there be a direct relation between the occurrences described by HH Bhakti Svarupa Damodar Swami in the above quote and the temple attack.”
In the Vedabase we find the following quote:
in the Katha Upanisada there is the emphatic call—
uttinohata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata
knurasya dhara nicita duratyaya
durgaa pathas tat kavayo vadanti
“Please get up, awake and try to understand that boon of life which you now have in this human form of life. The path of spiritual realization is very difficult and is sharp like the razor’s edge. That is the opinion of learned transcendental scholars.”
I would like to express my deepest sympathy to all victims of the attack and Krishna Conscious prayers for the departed souls.
Yadavendra das
Comment Posted By Yadavendra das On 29.08.2006 @ 16:08
Failing to offer all articles first to Srila Prabhupada on the temple Vyasasana
SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 4.4.13
Everything depends on the strength of the recipient. For example, due to the scorching sunshine many vegetables and flowers dry up, and many grow luxuriantly. Thus it is the recipient that causes growth and dwindling. Similarly, mahiyasäm päda-rajo-’bhisekam: the dust of the lotus feet of great personalities offers all good to the recipient, but the same dust can also do harm. Those who are offenders at the lotus feet of a great personality dry up; their godly qualities diminish. A great soul may forgive offenses, but Krishna does not excuse offenses to the dust of that great soul’s feet, just as one can tolerate the scorching sunshine on one’s head but cannot tolerate the scorching sunshine on one’s feet. An offender glides down more and more; therefore he naturally continues to commit offenses at the feet of the great soul. Offenses are generally committed by persons who falsely identify with the impermanent body. King Daksa was deeply engrossed in a misconception because he identified the body with the soul. He offended the lotus feet of Lord Siva because he thought that his body, being the father of the body of Sati, was superior to Lord Siva’s. Generally, less intelligent men misidentify in that way, and they act in the bodily concept of life. Thus they are subject to commit more and more offenses at the lotus feet of great souls. One who has such a concept of life is considered to be in the class of animals like cows and asses.
SB 4.4.13Comment Posted By yadavendra das On 06.09.2006 @ 00:38
My apologies for all other unanswered replies. Please redirect your queries to the Minister for Deity Worship: His Grace Nrisimha Kavaca Prabhu
nrsimha.kavaca.ids@pamho.netComment Posted By yadavendra das On 04.09.2006 @ 09:37
1
Dear Jagajivan Prabhu,Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of Iskcon and Institutor of the BBT! Thank you very much for taking the trouble to respond to my article “About the Rudness and Presumption of failing to Offer all Articles first to Srila Prabhupada on the Temple Vyasasana.” Please accept my humble congratulations for following proper procedure of worship! If in your temple / zone, everything else is also up to the same high standard, then you should definitely feel a thicker, more concentrated quality of Srila Prabhupada mercy flowing your way.
The only feedback that was given to me by one of our two GBC co-representatives is that the GBC deputies blocked my proposal from further advancement beyond their preliminary selection. What that exactly means I do not know because I have never had the privilege to attend a GBC meeting, being an ordinary servant of the Krishna cause only. My subjective conception is that perhaps the GBC deputies select beforehand the proposals that are going to make it to the GBC arena for discussion and vote. This is my conception. Please correct me if I am wrong. Neither do I know exactly what your personal service is. I cannot find your name on the list of GBC members zonal assignments for 2006.
All things considered, if Srila Prabhupada is not offered the articles on the temple Vyasasana first, He is definitely not treated fairly. Article 18 of the 64 regulative principles of devotional service says:” One should not tolerate disrespect of the Supreme Lord or His devotees” I substitute the noun disrespect to blasphemy because it will fit our situation more adequately and because disrespect is nothing but a milder form of blasphemy. The 64 regulative principles of devotional service are very nicely enumerated by Srila Prabhupada Himself in Narada Bhakti Sutra, purport to Sutra 12
In the case of the ghee lamp for example, offering by effecting circles is very much different from accepting the lamp prasadam. I do not know whether everyone considers this point. It seems to me that these two operations are often equated or mixed up, whilst they are totally different operations. For the article to become prasadam it has to be offered first. So one operation is the offering of the article, which is signified by effecting circles and the other is the acceptance of the prasadam, which is the gesture of the right hand touching the flame first and then touching one’s (fore) head. And if the altar pujari is offering the lamp to Srila Prabhupada on the temple Vyasasana by effecting circles then how can it be accepted as offering the lamp prasadam? This statement is simply a source of confusion. I believe the pujari offers the lamp to the assembled devotees in an exactly similar fashion. Still the lamp prasadam is offered to each devotee individually. Why then can’t it be offered to Srila Prabhupada on the temple Vyasasana first to signify His position as the Vaishnava shrestha and Founder-Acarya of Iskcon? It must be!
And even if Srila Prabhupada is offered the lamp prasadam on the altar, which is simply an expedient procedure, he should still be offered the prasadam again first on the temple Vyasasana, just to signify His pre-eminent position very PUBLICLY. Whatever else the functions of the Srila Prabhupada presence on the Vyasasana may be, this is certainly one of them! Please note the second definition of the adjective “expedient” in my Collins dictionary: “inclined toward methods or means that are advantageous rather than fair and just”By Krishna’s kind arrangement, I was recently made to check the word “homage” in the Collins dictionary. It gives: 1 a PUBLIC show of respect or honour toward someone or something. The key word here is PUBLIC. What’s public about offering the lamp and other articles’ prasadam on the altar? Not public at all! Who in the temple room perceives the significance of the pujari’s varieties of gestures on the altar very explicitly?
But to walk up to Srila Prabhupada on the Vyasasana is PUBLIC showing to everyone present in the temple room Who is the most senior Vaishnava in the assembly! It is PUBLIC showing to everyone present in the temple room Who is the person Whom we respect and adore the most! It is PUBLIC AND EXPLICIT showing to everyone present who is the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness! We got to show it PUBLICLY to every one present!!! We got to!!! Sri Krishna in that very same mood says in BG 9.31 “O son of Kunti, declare it BOLDLY that My devotee never perishes.” Let us not minimize Srila Prabhupada’s greatness as the Law Giver of martya loka for the next ten thousand years! Let us not foolishly hush things up! And when we walk up to Srila Prabhupada on the temple Vyasasana with any of the articles we should also pay our obeisances to Him at least once because it is proper etiquette to pay obeisances whenever we deal with Guru directly. This is what we were taught in the old days.
What is it that has changed?
All glories to Srila Prabhupada on the 110th anniversary of His Divine Appearance in just three days!!!Additionally, we may also ask that if the procedure is recommended in Pancaratra Pradipa and that if the Pancaratra Pradipa is endorsed by the GBC then how is it that some have got the impudence, audacity and discourteousness to disregard the recommendation of the GBC? Or is it that the GBC’s injunctions are not to be taken seriously as a general rule? Or is it that the minds of the authors were not very good at the time of composition and / or that the instruction has now become obsolete. What is it?
Prabhu, I have checked the map. I found that Paraguay is almost in the very middle of South America. Email communication is such wonderful thing, a form of telepathy, certainly another mystic perfectional process achieved by modern scientific procedures!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada’s world wide family of devotees!Hope this finds you in blissful Krishna Consciousness and beg to remain
Yours in the service of the Supreme,
Yadavendra das (ACBSP)
Monday August 14th 2006
Brisbane, Australia
Email: Yad108@mailpuppy.com2
Gaura Keshava Prabhu,
We are concerned about Srila Prabhupada first because He is the Founder-Acarya of Iskcon and that means that everything in Iskcon rests on His energy.
3Deenabandhua prabhu, we are doing this every day,. Everyday, during Guru puja we are offering aratik to Srila Prabhupada personally present on the Vyasasana and we certainly don’t offer the prasadam back to Him, although we find that some newcomer may sometimes attempt to do just that by mistake. However the difference is that the predominating Deity on the Vyasasana is Srila Prabhupada Himself and the predominating Deities on the altar are Lord Krishna and His various Vishnu tattva expansions. Srila Prabhupada will never decline to accept the article prasadam coming from the altar.
Comment Posted By yadavendra das On 19.08.2006 @ 02:54
ABOUT THE PRE-EMINENT IMPORTANCE OF BOOK DISTRIBUTION
Dear Kavicandra Maharaj
Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you very much for your association, Maharaj.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada’s sannyasis heroes!!!
Yours in divine service
Yadavendra dasComment Posted By yadavendra das On 19.08.2006 @ 02:58
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