Hare Krsna-pranams

below are some random quotes from SB for Lord Ramchandras appearance day….

SB 9.10.20    The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Ramacandr
Angada and the other commanders of the soldiers of Ramacandra faced
the elephants, infantry, horses and chariots of the enemy and hurled
against them big trees, mountain peaks, clubs and arrows. Thus the
soldiers of Lord Ramacandra killed Ravana’s soldiers, who had lost all
good fortune because Ravana had been condemned by the anger of mother
Sita.

PURPORT

The soldiers Lord Ramacandra recruited in the jungle were all
monkeys and did not have proper equipment with which to fight the
soldiers of Ravana, for Ravana’s soldiers were equipped with weapons
of modern warfare whereas the monkeys could only throw stones,
mountain peaks and trees. It was only Lord Ramacandra and Laksmana who
shot some arrows. But because the soldiers of Ravana were condemned by
the curse of mother Sita, the monkeys were able to kill them simply by
throwing stones and trees. There are two kinds of strength–daiva and
purusakara. Daiva refers to the strength achieved from the
Transcendence, and purusakara refers to the strength organized by
one’s own intelligence and power. Transcendental power is always

superior to the power of the materialist. Depending on the mercy of
the Supreme Lord, one must fight one’s enemies even though one may not
be equipped with modern weapons. Therefore Krsna instructed Arjuna,
mam anusmara yudhya ca: “Think of Me and fight.” We should fight our
enemy to the best of our ability, but for victory we must depend on
the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 9.10.22    The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Ramacandra

Lord Ramacandra said to Ravana: You are the most abominable of the
man-eaters. Indeed, you are like their stool. You resemble a dog, for
as a dog steals eatables from the kitchen in the absence of the
householder, in My absence you kidnapped My wife, Sitadevi. Therefore
as Yamaraja punishes sinful men, I shall also punish you. You are most
abominable, sinful and shameless. Today, therefore, I, whose attempt
never fails, shall punish you.

SB 9.10.23    The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Ramacandra
After thus rebuking Ravana, Lord Ramacandra fixed an arrow to His
bow, aimed at Ravana, and released the arrow, which pierced Ravana’s
heart like a thunderbolt. Upon seeing this, Ravana’s followers raised
a tumultuous sound, crying, “Alas! Alas! What has happened? What has
happened?” as Ravana, vomiting blood from his ten mouths, fell from
his airplane, just as a pious man falls to earth from the heavenly
planets when the results of his pious activities are exhausted.

SB 9.11.13-14       Lord Ramacandra Rules the World
Satrughna had two sons, named Subahu and Srutasena. When Lord
Bharata went to conquer all directions, He had to kill many millions
of Gandharvas, who are generally pretenders. Taking all their wealth,
He offered it to Lord Ramacandra. Satrughna also killed a Raksasa
named Lavana, who was the son of Madhu Raksasa. Thus He established in
the great forest known as Madhuvana the town known as Mathura.

SB 9.11.17          Lord Ramacandra Rules the World      

   The attraction between man and woman, or male and female, always
exists everywhere, making everyone always fearful. Such feelings are
present even among the controllers like Brahma and Lord Siva and is
the cause of fear for them, what to speak of others who are attached
to household life in this material world.

                               PURPORT

As explained above, when the feelings of love and transcendental
bliss from the spiritual world are pervertedly reflected in this
material world, they are certainly the cause of bondage. As long as
men feel attracted to women in this material world and women feel
attracted to men, the bondage of repeated birth and death will
continue. But in the spiritual world, where there is no fear of birth
and death, such feelings of separation are the cause of transcendental
bliss. In the absolute reality there are varieties of feeling, but all
of them are of the same quality of transcendental bliss.

SB 9.11.23          Lord Ramacandra Rules the World
O King Pariksit, anyone who aurally receives the narrations
concerning the characteristics of Lord Ramacandra’s pastimes will
ultimately be freed from the disease of envy and thus be liberated
from the bondage of fruitive activities.

PURPORT

Here in this material world, everyone is envious of someone else.
Even in religious life, it is sometimes found that if one devotee has
advanced in spiritual activities, other devotees are envious of him.
Such envious devotees are not completely freed from the bondage of
birth and death. As long as one is not completely free from the cause
of birth and death, one cannot enter the sanatana-dhama or the eternal
pastimes of the Lord. One becomes envious because of being influenced
by the designations of the body, but the liberated devotee has nothing
to do with the body, and therefore he is completely on the
transcendental platform. A devotee is never envious of anyone, even
his enemy. Because the devotee knows that the Lord is his supreme
protector, he thinks, “What harm can the so-called enemy do?” Thus a
devotee is confident about his protection. The Lord says, ye yatha mam

prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: “According to the proportion
of one’s surrender unto Me, I respond accordingly.” A devotee must
therefore be completely free from envy, especially of other devotees.
To envy other devotees is a great offense, a vaisnava-aparadha. A
devotee who constantly engages in hearing and chanting
(sravana-kirtana) is certainly freed from the disease of envy, and
thus he becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead.

Hare Krsna to all

Pranams

All glories to Srila Prabhuapda

Below is excerpts from a lecture by Srila Prabhupada where he explains the back and forth oscillations of materialists who try to enjoy and try to renounce-both with futility. Then he gives explanations of real spiritual practices like mind and sense control. Then he concludes with pure devotional service as the only  and final answer.

710727SB.NY                    Lectures
The, there are two kinds of tendencies: one is bhoga and one
is tyaga. Bhoga means enjoyment, sense enjoyment, and tyaga means to
give up this material world. But without guidance, one does not know
how to renounce this material world. That is called tyaga. Bhoga and
tyaga, two kinds of tendencies are going on in this material world.
First of all they want to enjoy, and when they are frustrated in
enjoyment, then there is renouncement. Again when they are tired of
renouncement, again enjoyment. Continue reading →

SB 9.4.48 P  The Lord, however, knows how to protect His devotee. As
indicated by the words prag distam, the Lord knew everything. Therefore, before anything happened, He had already arranged for His
cakra to protect Maharaja Ambarisa. This protection is offered to a
devotee even from the very beginning of his devotional service.
Kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati (▼Bg. 9.31). If one
simply begins devotional service, he is immediately protected by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in
▼Bhagavad-gita (18.66): aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami.
Protection begins immediately. The Lord is so kind and merciful that He gives the devotee proper guidance and all protection, and thus the
devotee very peacefully makes solid progress in Krsna consciousness without outward disturbances. A serpent may be very angry and ready to
bite, but the furious snake is helpless when faced by a blazing fire
in the forest. Although an enemy of a devotee may be very strong, he
is compared to an angry serpent before the fire of devotional service.

——————————————————————————————————-

Hare Krsna to all

Pranams

Glories to Prabhupada

Sometimes we may think that God (Krsna) is not “there” behind the scenes. But the solid realization that He is there comes with active service on His behalf.  We may know of some times when we actually  felt His protection directly, but there are probably many more times when Krsna was protecting us without our even knowing about it.  In this purport Srila Prabhupada explains that even for the most beginner of bhaktas, Krsna is taking charge of that persons life and giving direction and protection to him or her. Even tiny steps towards surrendering to the Lord are noticed, and immediately protection comes with those tiny steps.

This surrendering process to the Lord is the real insurance policy as the karmis will always let you down. If you ever had to make a claim to a so called” insurance company” you will know what I mean. They really dont want to cover your accidents, but only say so in their advertisements , and sometimes you have to hire a lawyer to get them to do what they promised you they would do. But with serving the Lord, their is no such hassles to encounter-Krsna immediately takes charge of His devoted servants and give them all protection. Therefore Krsna Consciousness is the real insurance policy !

Hari bol

Damaghosa das

Ramananda Raya’s conversation with Lord Caitanya

TLC 32                        Conclusion

 Lord Caitanya next asked Ramananda Raya, “What is the most valuable

thing in the world?”

 Ramananda Raya replied that he who has love for

Radha-Krsna possesses the most valuable jewel and the greatest riches.

One who is addicted to material sense gratification or material wealth

is not really considered to be wealthy. When one comes to the

spiritual platform of Krsna consciousness, he can understand that

there are no riches more valuable than love of Radha-Krsna. It is

recorded in Srimad-Bhagavatam that Maharaja Dhruva sought out the

Supreme Lord because he wanted to get some land, but when he finally

saw Krsna, he said, “I am so pleased, I don’t want anything.” In

Bhagavad-gita it is also stated that if one takes shelter of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead or is elevated to the supreme state of

love of Godhead, he has nothing more to aspire to. Although such

devotees can attain whatever they desire from the Lord, they do not

ask anything from Him.

When Lord Caitanya asked Ramananda Raya what is considered to be

the most painful existence,

 Ramananda Raya replied that separation

from a pure devotee constitutes the most painful existence. In other

words, when there is no devotee of the Lord present, there is great

suffering in society, and association with other people becomes

painful. In ▼Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.30.7) it is stated that if one who

is bereft of the association of a pure devotee tries to become happy

through society, friendship and love devoid of Krsna consciousness, he

is to be considered in the most distressed condition. In the Fifth

Canto of Brhad-bhagavatamrta (5.44) it is stated that the association

of a pure devotee is more desirable than life itself and that in

separation from him one cannot even pass a second happily.

Lord Caitanya then asked Ramananda Raya, “Out of many so-called

liberated souls, who is actually liberated?”

Ramananda replied that he who is actually completely saturated with the devotional love for Radha and Krsna is to be considered to be the best of all liberated

persons. It is stated in ▼Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.14.4) that a devotee of

Narayana is so rare that one can only find him out of millions and

millions of people.

   “And out of all songs, what song do you think is the best of all?”

Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked.

And Ramananda replied that any song which

describes the pastimes of Radha and Krsna is the best song. In

conditional life, the soul is captivated by sex. All fictions–dramas

and novels–and material songs describe love between men and women.

Since people are so attracted to this kind of literature, Krsna

appeared in this material world and displayed His transcendental

loving affairs with the gopis. There is an immense literature dealing

with the transactions between the gopis and Krsna, and anyone who

takes shelter of this literature or of the stories about Radha and

Krsna can enjoy actual happiness. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.33.36) it

is said that the Lord displayed His pastimes in Vrndavana in order to

reveal His actual life. Any intelligent person who tries to understand

the pastimes of Radha and Krsna is most fortunate. The songs that tell

of those pastimes are the greatest songs in the world.

   Lord Caitanya then inquired: “What is the most profitable thing in

the world, the essence of all auspicious events?”

Ramananda Raya replied that there is nothing as profitable as the association of pure

devotees.

   “And what do you recommend a person to think of?” Lord Caitanya

asked.

Ramananda replied that one should always think of the pastimes

of Krsna. This is Krsna consciousness. Krsna has multiple activities,

and they are described in many Vedic scriptures. One should always

think of those pastimes; that is the best meditation and the highest

ecstasy. In ▼Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.2.36) Sukadeva Gosvami confirms that

one should always think of the Supreme Personality of Godhead–not

only think of Him, but one should also hear and chant His name, fame

and glories.

 “And what is the best type of meditation?” Lord Caitanya inquired.

“He who always meditates on the lotus feet of Radha and Krsna is

the best meditator,” Ramananda Raya answered. This is also confirmed

in ▼Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.14): “It is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead alone who is the master of all devotees, whose name one should

always chant and who should always be meditated upon and worshiped

regularly.”

   “Where should a person live, giving up all other pleasures?” Lord

Caitanya next inquired.

Ramananda replied that one should give up all

other pleasures and should live in Vrndavana where Lord Krsna had so

many pastimes. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.47.61) Uddhava says that it is

best to live in Vrndavana even if one has to live as a plant or

creeper. It was in Vrndavana that the Supreme Lord lived and it was

there that the gopis worshiped the Supreme Lord, the ultimate goal of

all Vedic knowledge.

“And what is the best subject to hear of?” Caitanya Mahaprabhu next

asked.

  “The pastimes of Radha and Krsna,” Ramananda replied. Actually when

the pastimes of Radha and Krsna are heard from the right source, one

at once attains liberation. Unfortunately it sometimes happens that

people do not hear of these pastimes from a person who is a realized

soul. Thus people are sometimes misguided. It is stated in

Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.33.40) that one who hears of the pastimes of

Krsna with the gopis will attain the highest platform of devotional

service and will be freed from the material lust which overwhelms

everyone’s heart in the material world. In other words, by hearing the

pastimes of Radha and Krsna, one can get rid of all material lust. If

one does not become freed from material lust in this way, then he

should not indulge in hearing of the pastimes of Radha and Krsna.

Unless one hears from the right source, he will misinterpret the

pastimes of Radha and Krsna, considering them to be ordinary affairs

between a man and woman. In this way one may be misguided.

   “And who is the most worshipable Deity?” Caitanya Mahaprabhu next

inquired.

Ramananda Raya immediately replied that the transcendental

couple, Sri Radha and Krsna, is the ultimate object of worship. There

are many worshipable objects–the impersonalists worship the

brahmajyoti, for instance–but by worshiping objects other than Radha

and Krsna, one becomes bereft of life’s symptoms and becomes just like

a tree or other nonmoving entity. Those who worship the so-called void

also attain such results. Those who are after material enjoyment

(bhukti) worship the demigods and achieve their planets and thus enjoy

material happiness.

Lord Caitanya next inquired about those who are

after material happiness and liberation from material bondage. “Where

do they ultimately go?” He asked.

Ramananda Raya replied that ultimately some turn into trees and others attain the heavenly planets where they enjoy material happiness.

Ramananda Raya went on to say that those who have no taste for

Krsna consciousness or spiritual life are just like crows who take

pleasure in eating the bitter nimba fruit. It is the poetic cuckoo

that eats the seeds of the mango. The unfortunate transcendentalists

simply speculate on dry philosophy, whereas the transcendentalists who

are in love with Radha and Krsna enjoy fruit just like the cuckoo.

Thus those who are devotees of Radha and Krsna are most fortunate. The

bitter nimba fruit is not at all eatable; it is simply full of dry

speculation and is only fit for crowlike philosophers. Mango seeds,

however, are very relishable, and those in the devotional service of

Radha and Krsna enjoy them.

   Thus Ramananda Raya and Caitanya Mahaprabhu talked for the entire

night. Sometimes they danced, sometimes sang and sometimes cried.

After passing the night in this way, at dawn Ramananda Raya returned

to his place. The next evening he returned to see Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

After discussing Krsna for some time, Ramananda Raya fell at the feet

of the Lord and said, “My dear Lord, You are so kind to me that You

have told me about the science of Krsna and Radharani and Their loving

affairs, the affairs of the rasa dance and Their pastimes. I never

thought that I should be able to speak on this subject matter. You

have taught me as You formerly taught the Vedas to Brahma.”

   Being very satisfied, Lord Caitanya smiled and showed Ramananda His

real form as the combination of Sri Radha and Krsna. Thus Lord

Caitanya was Sri Krsna Himself with the external features of Srimati

Radharani. His transcendental ability to become two and then to become

one again was revealed to Ramananda Raya. Those who are fortunate

enough to understand Lord Caitanya as well as the Vrndavana pastimes

of Radha and Krsna can be able, by the mercy of Sri Rupa Gosvami, to

know about the real identity of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Upon seeing this unique feature of Lord Caitanya, Ramananda Raya

fainted and fell on the floor. Lord Caitanya then touched him, and he

came to his senses. Ramananda Raya was then surprised to see Lord

Caitanya again in His mendicant dress. Lord Caitanya embraced and

pacified him and informed him that he was the only one to have seen

this form. “Because you have understood the purpose of My incarnation,

you are privileged to have seen this particular feature of My

personality,” the Lord said. “My dear Ramananda, I am not a different

person with a fair complexion known as Gaurapurusa. I am the selfsame

Krsna the son of Maharaja Nanda, and due to contact with the body of

Srimati Radharani I have now assumed this form. Srimati Radharani does

not touch anyone but Krsna; therefore She has influenced Me with Her

complexion, mind and words. In this way I am just trying to understand

the transcendental flavor of Her relationship with Krsna.”

The fact is that both Krsna and Lord Caitanya are the original

Personality of Godhead. No one should try to eliminate Lord Caitanya

from Sri Krsna. In His form of Sri Krsna, He is the supreme enjoyer,

and in His form of Lord Caitanya, He is the supreme enjoyed. No one

can be more superexcellently attractive than Sri Krsna, and but for

Sri Krsna, no one can enjoy the supreme form of devotion, Srimati

Radharani. But for Sri Krsna, all Visnu forms are lacking this

ability. This is explained in the description of Govinda in

Caitanya-caritamrta. There it is said that Srimati Radharani is the

only personality who can infuse Sri Krsna with transcendental

pleasure. Thus Srimati Radharani is the chief damsel of Vraja in love

with Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna.

You can understand this yourself and keep it to yourself. From

a materialistic point of view, a devotee becomes mad in his ecstasy of

love for Krsna. Both you and I are just like madmen. So please don’t

disclose these facts to ordinary men. If you do, they will surely

laugh at Me.”

Lord Caitanya then passed ten nights with Ramananda Raya, enjoyed

his company and discussed the pastimes of Krsna and Radha. The

discussions between them were on the highest level of love for Krsna.

Some of these talks are described, but most of them could not be

described.

In Caitanya-caritamrta this has been compared to

metallurgic examination. The metals compared are discussed in the

following sequence: first copper, then bronze, then silver, gold and

at last touchstone. The preliminary discussions between Lord Caitanya

and Ramananda Raya are considered to be like copper, and the higher

discussions are considered to be like gold. The fifth dimension of

their discussions, however, is considered to be like touchstone. If

one is eager to attain the highest understanding, he must begin with

an inquiry into the differences between copper and bronze, then silver

and gold and so on.

footnote–these last statements comparing different metals to sucessively higher understandings

refer to an earlier discussion between Ramananda Raya and Lord Caitanya where

5 basic ideas for Dharma were presented by Ramananda Raya beginning with- how one should

just perform his occupational duty;;next was give up all results to Krsna, then renunciation

without fruitive result; then brahman realization without fruitive work or mental speculation until finally he came to hearing from the lips of a pure devotee-which Lord Caitanya accepted as the 

correct process for this age of Kali, since none of the previous methods are feasible due the implications and impurity of the age and its inhabitants..

Hare Krsna

Damaghosa das