Hare Krishna Society

Srila Prabhupada listed the following convictions of the Krishna Consciousness Movement:

Srila Prabhupada listed the following eight basic convictions of the Krishna Consciousness Movement:

1. The Absolute Truth is contained in all the great scriptures of the world. However, the oldest known revealed scriptures in existence are the Vedic literatures, most notably Bhagavad-gita, which is the literal record of God’s words.

2. God, or Krishna, is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive, the seed-giving father of man and all living entities. He is the sustaining energy of all life, nature, and the cosmic situation.

3. Man is actually not his body but spirit soul, part and parcel of God, and therefore eternal.

4. That all men are brothers can be practiced only when we realize God as our common father.

5. All our actions should be performed as a sacrifice to the Supreme Lord: “All that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” (Bhagavad-gita 9.27)

6. The food that sustains us should always be offered to the Lord before eating. In this way He becomes the offering, and such eating purifies us.

7. We can, by sincere cultivation of bona fide spiritual science, attain to the stage of pure, unendingly blissful consciousness, free from anxiety, in this very lifetime.

8. The recommended means to attain the mature stage of love of God in the present age of Kali, or quarrel, is to chant the holy name of the Lord. The easiest method for most people is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Is the GBC Representative of Srila Prabhupada?

BY: KRSNACANDRA DASA

May 08, 2010 — SRI VRNDAVAN DHAM– When we consider what ISKCON has become under the direction of the GBC over the last 33 years many of us do not like what we find. Historically ISKCON has been fraught with schisms, controversies, GBC, guru and Sannyasi ‘falldowns’ brought about by sexual, criminal, moral, ethical and philosophical deviance. We have also been faced with a GBC that has stalwartly pushed ahead with its plans to fully corporatize and centralize the ISKCON Institution with modern business stratagem and secular academicians against the best advice of many of the senior devotees of the devotional community.

Many senior and scholarly devotees have challenged the GBC on the validity of their management structure, methodology and their lack of consultation with devotional community members. The obstinacy of the ISKCON management to heed their advice/admonitions/needs has led to suspicion and eventually confrontation by many of the senior ISKCON members who feel alienated and disenfranchised from what they know is their spiritual father’s mission. Many are also beginning to doubt the ingenuousness of the ISKCON leadership’s true intention and subsequently their loyalty to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and his mission.

This contravention has inevitably led to polarity within the ISKCON Society which has resulted in the ISKCON leadership expending an extraordinary amount of time, effort and money on designing new laws, policies and programs whose main aim it is to; control the devotee resource base, prosecute them under the new ISKCON laws if necessary and ultimately to protect themselves and their interests.

Many feel that the GBC no longer feels obligated to the older devotional community members and has instead implemented a strategy that is primarily focused on the development of a volunteer workforce that has no knowledge of ISKCON’s fallacious past, and is loyal to the GBC and ISKCON gurus before Srila Prabhupada.

The failure of the GBC to respond appropriately to the needs of the older devotional community has also played a large role in the estrangement of many thousands of senior men and women of our community and has resulted in the mass exodus to other camps such as the Narayana Maharaja Camp and even to the point of filling the ranks and coffers of the Sahajiya Babas of Radhakunda, Varsana and Govardhana etc.

In order to properly understand and address the issues that face modern day ISKCON we must defer to the words and instructions of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. It is only then that we can construct an unbiased comparison between the present management of ISKCON’s aims and objectives and that of Srila Prabhupada and fully address the issues being brought to light by disenfranchised members of the devotional community.

As per the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Introduction: “There are other documents entitled to similar authority, in a different sort of way. These are legal documents in which Srila Prabhupada gives explicit directions. Examples are trust deeds, incorporation papers, and his last will. Such documents were deliberate, purposeful, and clearly intended to be upheld by the full force of law.”

Here the ISKCON leadership refers us to the levels of importance that we should place on the various literatures that we have available to us in ISKCON. Books are the highest instruction and they deal primarily in the philosophy of Krsna Consciousness. Legal documents are considered ‘similar’ in authority to Srila Prabhupada’s books. It is when we review these legal documents that we can easily differentiate if there are any differences between the GBC based management structure of ISKCON and the one that Srila Prabhupada established.

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Srila Prabhupada’s Statements on the “Higher Thing”

compiled by Mahesh Raja (UK)

Excerpts taken from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Nectar of Devotion, Chaitanya-charitamrita, Conversations & Letters, compiled by Mahesh das

The Gopi Bhava Club is as we know a group of senior leaders of ISKCON who took shelter of Narayana Maharaja and sought to infiltrate ISKCON with key members who secretly took siksa and disksa from Narayana Maharaja in the eighties and early nineties. Such as Bhurijan Dasa; who was the president of the Narayana Maharaja organization, and still held a position as an ISKCON guru and GBC member.

Initially they attempted to merge into ISKCON and influence it to accept Narayana Maharaja as the next Acharya and then when that failed they attempted to spilt with ISKCON. This was headed by Tamal Krsna Goswami who failed due to having his plan revealed by devotees and so lost impetus.

Presently the Gopi Bhava Club is working behind the scenes to merge the existing members of the Narayana Maharaja Camp into ISKCON when Narayana Maharaja finally leaves his body.

The history of this deviation needs to be carefully detailed so please provide your testimonies and any evidence in your possession so that this very serious deviation can be recorded for the sake of future posterity.

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Hare Krishna!

Today we have two offerings for your transcendental inspiration — our regular “Prabhupada Meditation” and this week’s “Sunday lecture.” Please enjoy!

1) Instruction Alone is not Enough:

https://www.prabhupadaconnect.com/Instruction-Alone-is-not-Enough.html

2) Freedom from all Calamities (Sunday lecture):

https://www.prabhupadaconnect.com/Freedom-from-all-Calamities.html

Best wishes.

Hare Krishna!

Since devotees on the west coast of North America celebrated Balarama Jayanti/ Balarama Purnima yesterday (August 17th), and devotees on the east coast are celebrating today (August 18th), we’ve posted two more entries honoring Lord Balarama for your transcendental viewing pleasure:

1) Even Baladeva is a Servant of Krishna:

https://www.prabhupadaconnect.com/Even-Baladeva-is-a-Servant-of-Krishna.html

2) Lord Balarama Visits Vrindavana (a favorite pastime):

https://www.prabhupadaconnect.com/Lord-Balarama-Visits-Vrindavana.html

With best wishes for a blissful day of remembering Sri Balaramaji.

Source: https://www.vedaveda.com/prabhupadaroom/nouvelles-du-jour/58-ressources/dossiers/festivals-et-celebrations/1635-mini-ratha-yatra-2016

Submitted by: Yasoda nandana Dasa

This bell was found in 1944 by a ten year old boy called Newton Richard Anderson who dropped a lump of coal and found it inside.
Mr Anderson kept the bell until 2007 when passed it to Genesis Park.
At this time he underwent polygraph tests to determine if he was telling the truth about the discovery of the bell and the result of this was that “no deception was detected”.

The bell is made of brass (an alloy of copper and zinc) with traces of tin, arsenic, iodine and selenium.
It is about 7 inches tall and is mounted with a crudely described figure appearing to have one visible leg, two arms and a head.
This figure is of Garuda (the gigantic bird which carries Lord Vishnu), with its eagle wings spread and a sharp beak.

This bell was made from a method not used today.
When an analysis was carried out it was discovered that the bell was made from an unusual mix of metals, different from any known modern alloy production (including copper, zinc, tin, arsenic, iodine, and selenium).

The seam from whence this lump of coal was mined is estimated to be 300,000,000 years old!

It is customary for Indians to use such bells with either Hanuman or Garuda idol with hands folded in shape of ‘namasthe‘ on top of them, in festivals, religious celebrations and marriages.

It is currently accepted by science and geology that coal is a by-product of decaying vegetation. The vegetation becomes buried over time and is covered with sediment. That sediment eventually fossilises and becomes rock. This natural process of coal formation takes up to 400 million years to accomplish.

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Submitted by: Yasoda nandana Dasa

“To feel separation from the Spiritual Master or Krishna is very good position. That means one who is in pure love with Krishna and His Representative, Spiritual Master, he thinks always of Them. And this thinking process is Krishna consciousness. If we can think always of Krishna even in separation, that is Krishna Consciousness. And in the absolute platform, there is no difference of separation and meeting.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, October 21, 1968)

Submitted by: Yasoda nandana Dasa

Jai Srila Prabhupada!

The devotee can purify every place and every thing

because he is carrying the Supreme Lord within his heart.

Teachings of Lord Chaitanya

Submitted by: Damagosha Dasa

Hare Krsna

Below are some of the qualifications necessary to become a Pure Devotee of the Lord. We should never think that now I have tilak, dhoti, sari, japa mala,I regularly go to a temple, church, etc that- now I am a devotee, a religious person. That is only the beginning of Dharma or bhakti yoga. One must acquire the qualifications of Vaisnava.

damaghosa das

——————————

Hamburg Aug 27 1969

By our present senses, we cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa, or what is God, what is His name, what is His form, what is His quality. Therefore immediately, if we try to understand Kṛṣṇa by His picture, “Oh, Kṛṣṇa is embracing Rādhārāṇī or the gopīs,” we shall mistake. Because unless our senses are purified, we shall accept Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī as ordinary young boy or girl and their dealings. But actually it is not. It is pure.

When your, the dust on the mirror of your heart will be cleansed, and it will cleanse by simply chanting, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam, and there will be no more any material condition…

That is the next stage. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without any offense, then immediately the stage will be that you are freed from all material anxieties. That is the test. How I am advancing in chanting will be tested how far you are free from material anxieties. That’s all. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-māha-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. Then real life begins. So long you are perturbed by material disturbances, you should know that your spiritual life has not begun. This is confirmed in everywhere. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati [Bg. 18.54]. Prasannātmā. Bhagavad-gītā says, “When one is Brahman realized…” Brahman realized means one who understands that “I am not this body. I am pure spirit soul, eternal servitor of Kṛṣṇa.” Simply understanding that “I am not this body. I am spirit soul,” is not enough. That is not sufficient knowledge. Of course, that is good. That is just on the marginal step between matter and spirit. But you have to transcend completely this material existence and come to the platform of spiritual understanding. So for that purpose you have to go further after Brahman realization. Brahman, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā [Bg. 18.54]. If you are actually Brahman realized, the symptom will be that you are always joyful, no anxiety. Anxiety, why…? Everything is very nicely discussed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād. When you forget Kṛṣṇa, or God, and if we think there is something else than Kṛṣṇa, then we are afraid. And those who are convinced and realized souls that there is nothing but Kṛṣṇa, where is the cause of fearfulness?

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Hare Krishna Society

Srila Prabhupada: Basic convictions of the Krishna Consciousness Movement:

Is the GBC Representative of Srila Prabhupada?

Srila Prabhupada’s Statements on the “Higher Thing”

Today’s offerings

Balarama Purnima

MINI RATHA-YATRA 2016 Montreal

300 Million Years old Bell with Garuda found in Buckhannon, West Virginia

Srila Prabhupada re: To feel separation from the Spiritual Master or Krishna is very good position

Srila Prabhupada re: The purifying potency of a pure devotee

Some qualifications needed to become pure devotee