Bhakti Nrsinga Maharaja at Rosebank Namahatta held at my sister Kandarpa Manjari’s place, check it out:
Ideology
There was a cartoon in the newspaper where our president, Thabo Mbeki is standing next to a monster with the text “Who created this monster?” The implication being that the president has created this difficult monstrous times that we living in.
There are so many ideologies out there some or most of them take us further away from God in subtle way. For example even when Srila Prabhupada was young and he met Srila Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja for the first time, Maharaja asked Srila Prabhupada to preach but Srila Prabhupada said that first we need to become free of British rule. So that was the ideology that was put forth.
And now with the Xenophobia attacks (that our president has been blamed for) there is an ideology that this is South African land and this is all deviating from the real purpose of life. Srila Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja told Srila Prabhupada that politicians may change but politics will remain. Krishna consciousness can not wait.
So KC goes beyond black and white; my land and your land. KC is the “unity of spirit” the more we are not on the bodily platform the more united we can become.
Maharaja also spoke about passion. The word ‘passion’ comes from Latin and from the time of Christ. It means suffering (interesting) that is why there have that movie “Passion of Christ” it is actually the suffering of Christ. People are passionately moving around doing so many things but it is only a source of suffering. The opposite of passion or of suffering is to have compassion. The world is suffering due to the lack of this compassion.
Free to be
Friday, June 6, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Ain’t nothing like the association of devotees
The temple arranged a hike in the Kloovendale nature reserve, a peaceful private setting just perfect of some good clean fun!
Click here to view the pics.
Click here to view the pics.
Blessed - 2x
HH Jayapataka Maharaja, made two of his usual speedy visits to Lenz in these past two weeks. On Maharaja’s first visit Maharaja showed slide shows of his one year of travelling. It was pretty cool seeing the different places (especially since I was in America when he was visiting New Vrindavan and New York Ratha Yatra so I could say, “Hey! I was there” :o) )
Then yesterday Maharaja gave an awesome class form the 11th chapter of Bhagavat Gita where Krishna says “Time I am the destroyer of the world...” Maharaja was saying that when he was in South America he was visiting this one cathedral and there was this huge picture of Gabriel, the arch angel, blowing on a horn and all these bodies from the graves were rising out and as they would rise, muscle and flesh would come back to the skeletons as in the graves they were just bones – I know … eeuu …
So this is describing the end of time, judgement day. These believers promote the theology that you live, die; wait for judgement day and at that time your body will once again rise. I never knew that so found this quite interesting. This is completely contradictory to vedic philosophy. Where the soul is the actual self and the body is temporary. The soul, once removed from material covering, can immediately enter the spiritual kingdom. Maharaja was quite funny when describing what would the best thing be for the body. The options are either being eaten by worms, ripped apart by vultures or burnt. Fire seems to be the best of the 3, This also removes attachment the soul might have for it.
Anyway the point is time destroys all things material.
Maharaja then described the glories to the 11th chapter of BG. When Parvati asked Lord Shiva about this chapter the following was described. (Maharaja is hilarious with the voices)
Once there was a chapter 11, Bhagavat Gita devotee. Every day he would read chapter 11 of BG. So as he was travelling he came to this one village where he wanted to stay in a guest house so he goes in and asks the guest house manager if he can have a room to stay in. so the guest house manager laughs all funny but says yes. As he shows him to his room he bids him goodnight and again laughs as if something is very funny. But the devotee just ignores it. Anyway he read chapter 11 of BG and goes to sleep. The next morning he finds that the entire guest house is empty he goes outside and sees the manager who is very shocked to see him and says “you here!” and the devotee is like “yes, I booked in here last night. Remember?” and then a Brahmin comes running along saying “My son! My son!’ then looking at the devotee, says”Only you can save him!” and the devotee says hold on and tell me what’s going on. The Brahmin explains that there is a man eating rakshas and that he use to come everyday to the village eating people so then the village told him he can’t do that so then he said he is cursed to be like this so he has to eat. So they made the arrangement that anyone who stays at the guest house will become the food for the rakshas, the only reason the devotee got saved was because he chants the 11th chapter of BG everyday. The bramin’s son was somehow in the house when the rakshas came so he was taken also.
So they go to the rakshas and plead for the son. The rakshas says the only way is to throw water that has had the 11th chapter of the BG chanted of it on to him. So the devotee did this and the rakshas gets liberated and the son because he was inside the rakshas. The Brahmin is very happy to see his son and then the visnuduttas came to take the rakshas and the Brahmin’s son back to godhead and the Brahmin is shock that his son is going and tells him to stay. Maharaja was really funny when he was pretending to be the father asking his son to return to his mother, to his daily chores, to all the entanglements that we have.
Anyway Maharaja said that this is a good lesson to remember if we are ever in the vicinity of man eating rakshas ;o)
How the rakshas came to be a rakshas is also a long story basically he was a farmer farming his land with his bullock carts when he heard someone screaming for help. Being so submerged in tama guna he thought let me just finish this little piece of land before I go see what is happening. Because of his lack of compassion he became a rakshas. The person who was screaming for help was a crippled person who was being attacked by vultures. Maharaja said that whoever dies in saving another devotee that person will go back to godhead.
HH Jayapataka Maharaja ki jai!
Truly blessed to get Maharaja’s association twice!
Then yesterday Maharaja gave an awesome class form the 11th chapter of Bhagavat Gita where Krishna says “Time I am the destroyer of the world...” Maharaja was saying that when he was in South America he was visiting this one cathedral and there was this huge picture of Gabriel, the arch angel, blowing on a horn and all these bodies from the graves were rising out and as they would rise, muscle and flesh would come back to the skeletons as in the graves they were just bones – I know … eeuu …
So this is describing the end of time, judgement day. These believers promote the theology that you live, die; wait for judgement day and at that time your body will once again rise. I never knew that so found this quite interesting. This is completely contradictory to vedic philosophy. Where the soul is the actual self and the body is temporary. The soul, once removed from material covering, can immediately enter the spiritual kingdom. Maharaja was quite funny when describing what would the best thing be for the body. The options are either being eaten by worms, ripped apart by vultures or burnt. Fire seems to be the best of the 3, This also removes attachment the soul might have for it.
Anyway the point is time destroys all things material.
Maharaja then described the glories to the 11th chapter of BG. When Parvati asked Lord Shiva about this chapter the following was described. (Maharaja is hilarious with the voices)
Once there was a chapter 11, Bhagavat Gita devotee. Every day he would read chapter 11 of BG. So as he was travelling he came to this one village where he wanted to stay in a guest house so he goes in and asks the guest house manager if he can have a room to stay in. so the guest house manager laughs all funny but says yes. As he shows him to his room he bids him goodnight and again laughs as if something is very funny. But the devotee just ignores it. Anyway he read chapter 11 of BG and goes to sleep. The next morning he finds that the entire guest house is empty he goes outside and sees the manager who is very shocked to see him and says “you here!” and the devotee is like “yes, I booked in here last night. Remember?” and then a Brahmin comes running along saying “My son! My son!’ then looking at the devotee, says”Only you can save him!” and the devotee says hold on and tell me what’s going on. The Brahmin explains that there is a man eating rakshas and that he use to come everyday to the village eating people so then the village told him he can’t do that so then he said he is cursed to be like this so he has to eat. So they made the arrangement that anyone who stays at the guest house will become the food for the rakshas, the only reason the devotee got saved was because he chants the 11th chapter of BG everyday. The bramin’s son was somehow in the house when the rakshas came so he was taken also.
So they go to the rakshas and plead for the son. The rakshas says the only way is to throw water that has had the 11th chapter of the BG chanted of it on to him. So the devotee did this and the rakshas gets liberated and the son because he was inside the rakshas. The Brahmin is very happy to see his son and then the visnuduttas came to take the rakshas and the Brahmin’s son back to godhead and the Brahmin is shock that his son is going and tells him to stay. Maharaja was really funny when he was pretending to be the father asking his son to return to his mother, to his daily chores, to all the entanglements that we have.
Anyway Maharaja said that this is a good lesson to remember if we are ever in the vicinity of man eating rakshas ;o)
How the rakshas came to be a rakshas is also a long story basically he was a farmer farming his land with his bullock carts when he heard someone screaming for help. Being so submerged in tama guna he thought let me just finish this little piece of land before I go see what is happening. Because of his lack of compassion he became a rakshas. The person who was screaming for help was a crippled person who was being attacked by vultures. Maharaja said that whoever dies in saving another devotee that person will go back to godhead.
HH Jayapataka Maharaja ki jai!
Truly blessed to get Maharaja’s association twice!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Xenophobia
As if South Africa doesn’t have enough violence…
Since last week or so they have been xenophobia attacks in Johannesburg. Xenophobia is racial intolerance or a dislike of foreigners. These sudden attacks were apparently brought about by the housing allocations where houses were being allocated to foreigners. Some South Africans thought that this was not right as the government should first look after their own people before accommodating foreigners (from other parts of Africa.) The attacks are so violent – on the news they had footage of a mattress being burnt and as the camera closes in you will see that there is a person on the mattress!
Kali Yuga – now is the time to get out.
I remember reading somewhere, at that time, Kirtananda Maharaja was telling Prabhupada how the government didn’t want foreigners (I think in this case it was Indians from India) coming to stay on the New Vrindavan farm. Srila Prabhupada said that was all nonsense, everything belongs to Krishna.
All of these attacks are a political stunt; these foreigners have been here several years, why are these attacks only happening now?
Since last week or so they have been xenophobia attacks in Johannesburg. Xenophobia is racial intolerance or a dislike of foreigners. These sudden attacks were apparently brought about by the housing allocations where houses were being allocated to foreigners. Some South Africans thought that this was not right as the government should first look after their own people before accommodating foreigners (from other parts of Africa.) The attacks are so violent – on the news they had footage of a mattress being burnt and as the camera closes in you will see that there is a person on the mattress!
Kali Yuga – now is the time to get out.
I remember reading somewhere, at that time, Kirtananda Maharaja was telling Prabhupada how the government didn’t want foreigners (I think in this case it was Indians from India) coming to stay on the New Vrindavan farm. Srila Prabhupada said that was all nonsense, everything belongs to Krishna.
All of these attacks are a political stunt; these foreigners have been here several years, why are these attacks only happening now?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Loyalty to Prabhupada
Last Sunday we had a special sanyasi giving class. It was HH Bhakti Nrsinga Swami. Why is he special? ... Well for one thing I got to see Maharaja receive sanyasa at the Durban Ratha Yatra this year making him the first sanyasi from South Africa - Haribol! Despite maharaja being from South Africa I never really heard Maharaja speak before and, man, was I blown away!!
Because we have Gaura Nitai deities Maharaja gave class from the CC, the beginning where it describes how Lord Caitanya appeared like the sun rising from the ocean.
Maharaja read the purport from Ādi 1.102 where it is described that “and it is predicted that as the sun and moon gradually move west, the movement They began five hundred years ago will come to the Western civilizations by Their mercy.” And the person that was chosen to do this great service was HDG Srila Prabhupada! Actually Srila Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja was giving the same instruction to all his disciples and when Srila Prabhupada came along Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja gave the same instruction, “Preach to English speaking world” it was Srila Prabhupada who had the mercy and the compassion in his heart to fulfil this desire of Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja.
Nowadays there is a feeling among some devotees that Srila Prabhupada didn’t give us everything that perhaps we need to get more information from other places. But actually the special nature of Srila Prabhupada’s books is that each time you read it, if you reading carefully, newer and newer levels are reached each time creating more and more realisations. It’s amazing! Maharaja said that his been on 3 Nectar of Devotion courses and each time he felt like wow!
Maharaja was describing that he went to the Ratha Yatra in Newcastle where one devotee mother, standing with her 10 month old baby, was explaining that children at this age are very sensitive that they can not see clearly but they can smell, so they maybe passed from one lady to another but they are not happy until they come back again to their mother. They recognise there mother by the smell. So Srila Prabhupada is like our mother giving us milk since the time of birth.
Maharaja also spoke on the Caitanya tree, ISKCON being one the main branches that is actually producing the most juiciest fruits.
During the question and answer session, one devotee asked: the main activities that Prabhupada wanted were preaching, book distribution and harinaam. What if a devotee feels that the temple is not doing enough of this and that (like how Prabhupada left the gaudiya math) they would like to branch of and create there own centre and just get on with the mission.
Maharaja’s answer was brilliant: wherever one goes there has to be authority. There are different GBCs and perhaps we may get along with the temple president in Lenasia then we can go to a place where we do get along with the authority. We can not, not get along with all authorities. Just like Maharaja travels to different places in each place Maharaja has to check with the local GBC. Then Maharaja said you can try doing something on own but it won’t last. Maybe for a few years but after a while it will just dry up. Others have tried .. In terms of the Caitanya tree you maybe one branch that is not so firmly attached and gradually after a while that branch will dry up.
Because we have Gaura Nitai deities Maharaja gave class from the CC, the beginning where it describes how Lord Caitanya appeared like the sun rising from the ocean.
Maharaja read the purport from Ādi 1.102 where it is described that “and it is predicted that as the sun and moon gradually move west, the movement They began five hundred years ago will come to the Western civilizations by Their mercy.” And the person that was chosen to do this great service was HDG Srila Prabhupada! Actually Srila Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja was giving the same instruction to all his disciples and when Srila Prabhupada came along Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja gave the same instruction, “Preach to English speaking world” it was Srila Prabhupada who had the mercy and the compassion in his heart to fulfil this desire of Bhaktisiddanta Maharaja.
Nowadays there is a feeling among some devotees that Srila Prabhupada didn’t give us everything that perhaps we need to get more information from other places. But actually the special nature of Srila Prabhupada’s books is that each time you read it, if you reading carefully, newer and newer levels are reached each time creating more and more realisations. It’s amazing! Maharaja said that his been on 3 Nectar of Devotion courses and each time he felt like wow!
Maharaja was describing that he went to the Ratha Yatra in Newcastle where one devotee mother, standing with her 10 month old baby, was explaining that children at this age are very sensitive that they can not see clearly but they can smell, so they maybe passed from one lady to another but they are not happy until they come back again to their mother. They recognise there mother by the smell. So Srila Prabhupada is like our mother giving us milk since the time of birth.
Maharaja also spoke on the Caitanya tree, ISKCON being one the main branches that is actually producing the most juiciest fruits.
During the question and answer session, one devotee asked: the main activities that Prabhupada wanted were preaching, book distribution and harinaam. What if a devotee feels that the temple is not doing enough of this and that (like how Prabhupada left the gaudiya math) they would like to branch of and create there own centre and just get on with the mission.
Maharaja’s answer was brilliant: wherever one goes there has to be authority. There are different GBCs and perhaps we may get along with the temple president in Lenasia then we can go to a place where we do get along with the authority. We can not, not get along with all authorities. Just like Maharaja travels to different places in each place Maharaja has to check with the local GBC. Then Maharaja said you can try doing something on own but it won’t last. Maybe for a few years but after a while it will just dry up. Others have tried .. In terms of the Caitanya tree you maybe one branch that is not so firmly attached and gradually after a while that branch will dry up.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Happy birthday, Sitala!
Yesterday was not a good day for me. Since Saturday I lost my bead bag! That is the bead bag with the beads I received at initiation, the same beads that my guru Maharaja had chanted on.
I felt it was a direct result of really bad chanting and that Krishna was telling to catch a wake up or loose more than what I have already. Fortunately, Krishna’s grace, I found it this morning as I was preparing to leave home for work, the one place I didn’t check struck me and there was my bead bag. shoo! close call…
Yesterday was also my birthday, not birthday into this material body but spiritual birth of formally receiving the holy name from my spiritual master. Yep, it’s been 5 years and as I sat at the initiation ceremony yesterday listening as the initiates got their new names I though about the sacrifice the spiritual master takes in accepting a disciple. Even if it takes several births to save a disciple the guru takes that risk.
My spiritual master is especially merciful, taking risks to save a fallen soul like me. Even at the time of initiation Maharaja knew I wasn’t hundred percent. But over the years since then maharaja has given me many opportunities to somehow gradually improve myself. I am forever grateful for that and I offer my deepest, most humble obeisance to Gurumaharaja, and I beg forgiveness for the multitudes of sin I commit daily at his lotus feet.
I beg the Lord to help me to overcome these offences and to help me become a good devotee.
All glories to Jagat Guru, Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Srila Gurudev!
I felt it was a direct result of really bad chanting and that Krishna was telling to catch a wake up or loose more than what I have already. Fortunately, Krishna’s grace, I found it this morning as I was preparing to leave home for work, the one place I didn’t check struck me and there was my bead bag. shoo! close call…
Yesterday was also my birthday, not birthday into this material body but spiritual birth of formally receiving the holy name from my spiritual master. Yep, it’s been 5 years and as I sat at the initiation ceremony yesterday listening as the initiates got their new names I though about the sacrifice the spiritual master takes in accepting a disciple. Even if it takes several births to save a disciple the guru takes that risk.
My spiritual master is especially merciful, taking risks to save a fallen soul like me. Even at the time of initiation Maharaja knew I wasn’t hundred percent. But over the years since then maharaja has given me many opportunities to somehow gradually improve myself. I am forever grateful for that and I offer my deepest, most humble obeisance to Gurumaharaja, and I beg forgiveness for the multitudes of sin I commit daily at his lotus feet.
I beg the Lord to help me to overcome these offences and to help me become a good devotee.
All glories to Jagat Guru, Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Srila Gurudev!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Hiranyakashipu’s school
I know 'The Apprentice' has been showing on TV for a long while now, but somehow I never ended up watching it until couple of weeks ago. Every time I watch it though I am filled with disbelief that grown people and so called upper class people could behave so churlishly and so childishly.
One of the weeks, while I was watching one episode, I had a flash in my mind of a scene from the Nrsingadev plays that are often shown. You know the part where Sananda and Amarka, the school teachers of Prahlad, are trying to instil some demonic qualities in to Prahlad. And on 'The Apprentice' Donald Trump was showing approval to one of the teams who did some real shifty stuff that had me quite horrified! At that point I suddenly thought this is just like Hiranyakashipu’s school!
This made me understand why we are warned against getting too close with materialistic people. Here, where I work, there are nice people. But I also get plenty of exposure to back-stabbers and the like. Of course you learn how to block those kind of people out so that they don’t get too close. But still their behaviour and the behaviour of the ‘nice' people can influence you on a subtle plain. To counteract that effect, I need to hear (nicely) plenty of holy names of the Lord and I need to associate on a deep level with devotees.
The holy names one I’ve got to work on. For the association I also need to work on but this Monday night I had a really nice time at book club. We discussed Krishna Book and it was just great! If some how we can do more things like this hopefully at the time of death, that is what will shine instead of all the materialistic things I am involved in.
Jai Sacinandan Gaura-Hari!
One of the weeks, while I was watching one episode, I had a flash in my mind of a scene from the Nrsingadev plays that are often shown. You know the part where Sananda and Amarka, the school teachers of Prahlad, are trying to instil some demonic qualities in to Prahlad. And on 'The Apprentice' Donald Trump was showing approval to one of the teams who did some real shifty stuff that had me quite horrified! At that point I suddenly thought this is just like Hiranyakashipu’s school!
This made me understand why we are warned against getting too close with materialistic people. Here, where I work, there are nice people. But I also get plenty of exposure to back-stabbers and the like. Of course you learn how to block those kind of people out so that they don’t get too close. But still their behaviour and the behaviour of the ‘nice' people can influence you on a subtle plain. To counteract that effect, I need to hear (nicely) plenty of holy names of the Lord and I need to associate on a deep level with devotees.
The holy names one I’ve got to work on. For the association I also need to work on but this Monday night I had a really nice time at book club. We discussed Krishna Book and it was just great! If some how we can do more things like this hopefully at the time of death, that is what will shine instead of all the materialistic things I am involved in.
Jai Sacinandan Gaura-Hari!
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