Revisions – A Very Serious Situation
BY: PALAKA DAS (ACBSP)
Dec 20, 2010 — USA (SUN) — As I read “Interpretations of Bhagavad-gita”, recently published by Sun Staff, I noticed that the English translations of the Sanskrit Gita verses quoted by Srila Prabhupada just did not seem to fit, especially for a paper that was written by him all the way back in 1948. The style and arrangement of words appeared to have been taken from a much later date than the way I felt Srila Prabhupada would have written in India in the 1940’s. It dawned on me, perhaps these English translations were not the original English translations after all. Could it be they may have been changed or edited and not actually from the 1948 versions used in the original paper as presented by Srila Prabhupada?

So I took it upon myself to compare all the verses in this article with an original 1972 Gita along with the revised 1983 Gita. Not surprisingly, the result was this: each and every verse quoted from this 1948 paper came from the 1983 revised and enlarged edition of Bhagavad-gita. How can that be, since in 1948, this revised and enlarged version of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita never even existed in the first place?
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SB 3.28.33—With devotion steeped in love and affection, the yogī should meditate within the core of his heart upon the laughter of Lord Viṣṇu. The laughter of Viṣṇu is so captivating that it can be easily meditated upon. When the Supreme Lord is laughing, one can see His small teeth, which resemble jasmine buds rendered rosy by the splendor of His lips. Once devoting his mind to this, theyogī should no longer desire to see anything else.

PURPORT

It is recommended that the yogī visualize the laughter of theLord after studying His smile very carefully. These particular descriptions of meditation on the smile, laughter, face, lips and teeth all indicate conclusively that God is not impersonal. It is described herein that one should meditate on the laughter or smiling of Viṣṇu. There is no other activity that can completely cleanse the heart of the devotee. The exceptional beauty of the laughter of Lord Viṣṇuis that when He smiles His small teeth, which resemble the buds of jasmine flowers, at once become reddish, reflecting His rosy lips. If the yogī is able to place the beautiful face of the Lord in the core of his heart, he will be completely satisfied. In other words, when one is absorbed in seeing the beauty of the Lord within himself, the material attraction can no longer disturb him.

Vrn SB 1.7.23 Sept 20 1976

But we are so rascal that we do not take advice of Kṛṣṇa, we manufacture our own ways, the suffering goes on.Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti. This is māyā.He’s thinking that he’ll make his own plan and be happy. That will never be possible. The only plan you have to accept—what is that? Sarva–dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam[Bg. 18.66]. That is the only plan. You have to get yourself relieved from all other engagements. Simply engage yourself…Not immediately. First of all, you must ready: “Kṛṣṇa, from this day, I am now ready. Whatever You’ll say, I’ll do.” That’s… Immediately you become liberated. Liberated. How liberated? Continue reading →

For those of you who dont know the history very well-this is but one interesting bit of it regarding how illusion
or Maya comes into iskcon (or our own lives) and contaminates the devotees with deception.

Long story short-Gaura Govinda swami (GGS) was a GBC supporter, and told the “story” that Prabhupada personally whispered in his ear that he should be acarya and later GGS was reported to have said, or at least his disciples were saying that he had a letter (which was always kept secret and nobody ever saw it) from Prabhupada saying that he GGS was to become acarya of iskcon. So the below story takes place in one temple where GGS in front of a whole crowd of devotees when asked if there was an order to be guru–he replied over and over again with head held down–“NO ORDER”… NO ORDER….. NO ORDER…
A week later he wad dead.

damaghosa das

—–Original Message—–
From: Joseph Langevin <yasoda1008@yahoo.com>
To: ISLAND <srigovinda@gmail.com>; Damaghosa Dasa <dasdasdas@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Jul 22, 2015 5:31 pm
Subject: Fw: Fw: Old Stuff …

—– Forwarded Message —–
From: “DasDasDas@aol.com” <DasDasDas@aol.com>
To: rjsimman@yahoo.com; yasoda1008@yahoo.com;vaikunta83@yahoo.com
Sent: Monday, April 7, 2014 7:34 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Old Stuff …

Thank you Jagannivasa prabhu for this letter from Bhima–it should go into a record book of what happened in those crazy days.

damaghosa

In a message dated 4/7/2014 10:24:25 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, rjsimman@yahoo.com writes:

Bhima das’ reply.

das

jagannivasa das

I don’t keep up with facebook, and this Madhavananda has certainly never tried to contact me personally. It’s not like I have to answer him anything. I’m the one who has put up the Reward offer of $108,000 to anyone who can show proof that Srila Prabhupada appointed him as guru. That was what ticked Gour Govinda’s followers off. And to date they haven’t collected the money.

I don’t know if Madhavananda is the person I’m thinking of – maybe it’s another. But Madhavananda’s version of what happened is somewhat different from what I recall. It has been many years since, but I do remember clearly that meeting with Gour Govinda Swami.

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Hare Krsna
Below-5 short statements–

1. Unless one is humble, he or she cannot accept and follow a spiritual master
2. The value of accepting a Spiritual Master- cannot be calculated
3. If one does not find a bona-fide Spiritual Master then either Krsna is not pleased or you are not serious
4. Once one does accept a SM, his business is not finished with 16 rounds Hare Krsna mantra /day
5. The requirements necessary for going to the spiritual world.

1.) “You have inquired why Caitanya Mahaprabhu has not mentioned anything about accepting a Spiritual Master in His Siksastaka. But perhaps you have missed the point that He says amanina manadena kirtaniya sada hari. This means one has to chant the Holy Names of Krishna, becoming humbler than the straw, and more tolerant than the tree. So who can become humbler than the straw unless he accepts a Spiritual Master? The whole world is puffed up. Everyone wants to become the Lord of everything. Ultimately, the Mayavadi philosopher wants to become one with the Supreme Lord. This means that when one fails to become Lord of everything, he wants to mix up with the Supreme Lord and tries in that way to automatically become Lord of everything. What he can’t perform by his own capacity he wants to have done by being merged into the Supreme Lord. That is the mentality of the general people. But if anyone becomes humbler than the grass and more tolerant than the tree, it is understood that he has accepted a Spiritual Master. Besides that, if we accept Sikshastak as authority given by Lord Caitanya, this means we accept Lord Caitanya as Spiritual Master. In the Bhagavad-gita it is openly mentioned that Arjuna accepted Krishna as the Spiritual Master. There is another mention in the Sikshastak, Lord Caitanya says ‘I do not want any wealth of this world, I do not want any following, neither do I want a beautiful wife. Simply I want to become a servant of the Lord.’ To become the servant of the Lord means to accept a Spiritual Master. Without accepting somebody as master, how can one become an expert servant? It is not that in every literature you will find the words that everyone has to accept a Spiritual Master, but we have to study things scrutinizingly. In the Caitanya Caritamrta there is mention guru krsna krpaya paya bhakti lata bija. By the mercy of the Spiritual Master and Krishna one can get the seeds of bhakti lata, the plant of devotional service..”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, July 4, 1969)
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Hare Krsna
Below Srila Prabhupada mentions three things-
1.) Foolish work(Ugra Karma) makes one toil too hard-and without that-we still can daily eat only a few chapatis
2.) We work so hard (for that big/expensive house) but we all need is only 6 feet to lay down in at night.
3.) The tendency NOT to work so hard (for maya) is– a spiritual tendency.damaghosa das
————————-

1.) Brahma Samhita lecture- NY july 31 1971

So Prahlāda Mahārāja was very much sympathetic that “I am simply anxious for these rascals who have created a humbug civilization for temporary happiness,” māyā–sukhāya. Māyā–sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān [SB7.9.43]. They have created ugra karma. This is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, ugra karma.

Huge

factory, day and night melting iron, and they are working, working. The special technologies, getting some money, they’re happy. They do not know how they’re wasting their valuable life. This is called māyā. Why so much work? Why you are working so hard? Do you think if you’ll get hundred dollars per day you can eat more capātīs than myself? (laughter). Rascal does not know that he will eat the same number of capātīs, four or five or six, but he’ll work so hard. So we are the best intelligent class. We don’t work, but we get our capātīs. (laughter) Let the rascal work, but we get our capātīs. Māyā–sukhāya bharam udvahatovimūḍhan [SB 7.9.43].

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Updated garden video-last one was done 6 weeks ago(see facebook under Sri Sri Gaura Nitai mandir or Damaghosa das) and just see how high everything has gotten-the beans and corn were only a foot high-now they are over 8 feet !!

..”Sarva kama dughi mahi…” BG—Soon there will be corn on the cob at the dinner table every day for 2 months !
Yes thats right-2 months- every day. I remember when I was a just a kid, we had a large family and we each would get just one ear of corn per meal,maybe two if somebody else wasn’t hungry–but now I can have, as Srila Prabhupada says, “to my full satisfaction”, as many as I can digest !! And believe me, when you work outside in gardens or on a farm, you CAN digest a lot of food !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X82sMks3CQY&feature=youtu.be

Hare Krsna….

damaghosa das

750514mw.per Conversations
Amogha: He was saying that your solution was too simple. He said that
people will not accept it because it is too simple.
Prabhupada: That is his ignorance. They will say it is primitive.

That is the only solution. According to the Vedic system, you cannot use
anything which you cannot produce. Suppose this we are using, but
according the Vedic system we should not use it because I cannot
produce it. Then the whole solution is there. Nobody will manufacture
this because there will be no customer. If I refuse this use of this
machine, thinking that “I cannot produce it; I should not use it,”
then where is the customer? The so-called industry will automatically
stop, and he has to go to the village outlying.

[and become more self sufficient]

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“Just read from my books and try and explain the meaning in your own words.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, 73-01-26)

“You must all study all of the books so that when the need arises you can repeat in your own words their purport.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, 72-01-06)

“The process is that you should memorize the purports of my books and then speak them in your own words.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, 75-11-15)

“By writing according to our realization we become more and more convinced and all doubts are destroyed.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, 75-11-15)

“Chant Hare Krsna Mantra day and night, read books and expressing the philosophy in your own words write articles for publishing.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, 75-11-15)

“You ask one question about the nature of books. I want you to write as my disciples; on this point, Krsna Consciousness is not limited. Persons like all of the Gosvamis wrote so many books, Visvanatha Cakravarti, and all the acaryas wrote books, and still I am writing books. Similarly, also my disciples will write.”

(Srila Prabhupada letter, 72-2-15)

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The following was spoken by Suta Goswami and taken from the Book Ekadasi compiled by Krsna Balaram Swami. (please forgive any typos)

Benefits of observing Ekadasi:

Arjuna the son of Prtha asked the Lord O Janardana what are the pious benefits of complete fasting, eating only supper, or eating but once at midday on Ekadasi, and what are the regulations for observing the various Ekasasi days, Kindly narrate all this to me.

Please listen as I now describe the results obtained by one who observes Ekadasi in this way. Neither the merit one receives by taking a bath in the sacred place of pilgrimage known as Sankhodara, where the Lord killed the Sankhasura demon, nor the merit one receives upon seeing Lord Gadadhara directly is equal to one sixteenth of the merit one obtains by fasting on Ekadasi. It is said that by giving charity on monday when the moon is full, one obtains a hundred thousand times the results of ordinary charity. O winner of wealth, one who gives charity on the day of the sankranti (equinox), attains four hundred thousand times the ordinary result. Yet simply by fasting on Ekadasi one obtains all these pious results as well as whatever pious results one gets at Kuruksetra during an eclipse of the sun or moon. furthermore, the faithful who observes complete fasting on Ekadasi achieves a hundred times more merit than one who perfoms an Asvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice). One who observes just a single Ekadasi perfectly earns the same merit as one who feeds a hundred thousand mendicants each day for 60 thousand years. And a person who properly observes Ekadasi just once earns ten times more merit than a person who gives a thousand cows in charity to a brahmana learned in the Vedas.

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Cows & Sattva Guna

by Kurma Rupa dasa

Cows Influence us to be Good

Bhagavad-gita explains that material nature is composed of three modes ― goodness, passion and ignorance ― and that when the living entities, who are spiritual, come in contact with nature they become conditioned by these modes.

Of these three, the mode of goodness (sattva guna) is superlative as it conditions one to develop peace and clarity of mind, illumination, wisdom and furthermore frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in the mode of goodness experience a sense of happiness and knowledge.

The mode of passion (rajo guna) inspires an endless flow of uncontrollable desires and longings: attachment to possessions, self-indulgence, self-promotion, oneupmanship, elitism, consumerism, and other forms of fruitive activity. As all these can never be fully accomplished, those situated in the mode of passion are characterized by frustration and misery.

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HARE KRSNA- EVERY MORNING THESE DAYS, DURING AND AFTER MONGOL AROTIK, THE DAIRY COWS ACROSS THE ROAD COME AND HEAR ME SING, RING THE BELLS,AND THEN I OFFER AROTIK TO THEM ALL. SOMETIMES THEY ARE RIGHT UP AGAINST THE FENCE LOOKING THIS WAY, WONDERING WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE. SOMETIMES I FEED THEM PURIS AND HALAVA, BUT MOST OF THE TIME I JUST CHANT TO THEM. THIS IS WONDERFUL AND AUSPICIOUS HAVING THEM ACROSS THE ROAD. SOMEDAY, BY KRSNA’S MERCY, I WILL AGAIN HAVE COWS OF MY OWN……

DAMAGHOSA DAS

Glories of Mother Cow (Vedic Quotes) … FROM SAVE THE COW WEBSITE

Krishna and a cow

Gopal Krishna

All glories to Krishna, the son of Mother Yasoda, the cowherd boy Gopal, Govinda who gives pleasure to the cows! All glories to the conqueror of Cupid, Lord Hari, who takes away all inauspiciousness, who is unlimited, and the awarder of liberation!

(Gitavali, Sri Krishner Vimsottara-Sata-Nam, Song 6, Verse 1 Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Trans. Dasaratha-suta dasa. Nectar Books, 2002.)

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakshmis orgopis.

(Sri Brahma-samhita 5.29, translation and purport by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami. Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1989.)

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Hare Krishna Society

Book Changes even with 1948 Srila Prabhupada’s translations‏

KRSNA’S SMILE AND LAUGH‏

this is a great story of a confrontation with Gaura Govinda Swami about ritvik-he admits defeat‏

Unless humble, one cannot accept a spiritual master‏

4 chapatis and 6 feet of floor-thats all we need !!–SP‏

updated garden video-see how much things have grown in 6 weeks-corn/beans went up 6-7 feet !!‏

Prabhupada wanted us to write our realizations‏

Benefits of fasting on Ekadasi‏

COWS AND SATTVA GUNA BY KURMA RUPA DAS (VRNDAVANA-CARE FOR COWS)‏

Cows & Sattva Guna

Cows-Krsna’s favorite companions‏

Glories of Mother Cow (Vedic Quotes) … FROM SAVE THE COW WEBSITE