Archive for April, 2007
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Prahlada Maharaja and LORD NRSMHADEVA
Taken this morning, 2007-04-30
This pic, along with many others, were posted today in the “Gallery” at  http://www.newvrindaban.com/  New pics of the Deities are regularly posted.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by jm
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Reading the Landscape (after Barry Lopez)
burn pile
This pile was created many years ago, and that is why the briers and weeds have entangled it.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Ms. Rural
Monday, April 30th, 2007
New Vrindaban Nrsimha Caturdashi Pictures
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Srimati Radharani Nrisimha Catudashi Picture
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Radha Vrindabancandra Nrsimha Caturdashi Pictures
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Nrsimhadeva and Gopijanavallabha
My Lord Nrsimhadeva got his yearly bath and worship, unfortunately I am not able to worship Him properly but at least once a year he gets full worship and abhiseka and He stays on the main altar throughout the day. He has been with me for a long time and somehow He still tolerates me.
I also took the opportunity to give Gopijanavallabha a bath. And He also gets to be on the main alter for the day. He came recently, although I’m not sure why because I no ability or qualification to serve Him, but the Lord is very kind to His aspiring devotees.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Way Down Beneath the Ocean
By Srila Jiva Goswami dasa
My body lies under the ocean
Far under the Causal Blue Sea
My body lies under the ocean
Oh send forth my body from me
What is this all about? As each successive material endeavor dashes upon the rocks, you’d think I’d finally give up gladly. I don’t pray for death anymore. […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by mg
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Lord Nrsimhadeva Grants Yugala Prema
.jpg)
Lord Nrsimhadeva holds a special position in our gaudiya vaishnava tradition.
We worship Him to be free of material desires so that we can properly serve Radha and Krishna.
It is very significant that Srila Prabhupada introduced the Nrsimha prayers as part of the daily morning program in all his temples. Every day we worship Lord Nrsimha deva just before we worship Srimati Tulasi devi praying to be engaged by her as her maidservant in the service of Sri Sri Radha Govinda. Without a pure heart free from the demon of lust it will be impossible for one to be engaged in maidservice of the Divine Couple.
Although we are generally not interested in worshiping the various incarnations of the Lord, worship of Lord Nrsimha deva is very important for killing the demons in the heart.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.8 Prahlad Maharaj Prays,
Om namo bhagavate narasimhaya namas tejas tejase avir avirbhava vajra nakha vajra damstra karmasayan randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa om; svaha abhayam abhayam atmani bhuyistha om ksraum
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Narasimhaadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.”
And Srila Prabupada explains in his purport, “Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Narasimhadeva as Prahlada Maharaja did in this verse.”
Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur explains this very beautifully in his Navadvip Bhava Taranga:
e dusta hrdaye kama adi ripu chaya
kutinati pratisthasa sathya sada raya
hrdaya-sodhana ara krsnera vasana
nrsimha-carane mora ei to’ kamana
Within my sinful heart the six enemies headed by lust perpetually reside, as well as duplicity, the desire for fame, plus sheer cunning. At the lotus feet of Lord Narasimha, I hope that He will mercifully purify my heart and give me the desire to serve Lord Krsna.
kandiya nrsimha-pade magibo kakhana
nirapade navadvipe jugala-bhajana
bhaya bhaya paya yan’ra darsane se hari
prasanna hoibo kabe more daya kari
Weeping, I will beg at the lotus-feet of Lord Narasimha for the benediction of worshipping Radha and Krsna in Navadvipa, perfectly safe and free from all difficulties. When will this Lord Hari, Whose terrible form strikes fear into fear itself, ever become pleased and show me His mercy?
yadyapi bhisana murti dusta-jiva-prati
prahladadi krsna-bhakta-jane bhadra ati
kabe va prasanna ho’ye sa krpa-vacane
nirbhaya karibe ei mudha akincane
Even though Lord Narasimha is terrifying toward the sinful souls, He offers great auspiciousness unto the devotees of Lord Krsna headed by Prahlada Maharaja. When will He be pleased to speak words of compassion unto me, a worthless fool, and thereby make me fearless?
svacchande baiso he vatsa sri-gauranga-dhame
jugala-bhajana hau rati hau name
mama bhakta-krpa-bale vighna jabe dura
suddha cite bhajo radha-krsna-rasa-pura
He will say, “Dear child! Sit sown freely and live happily here in Sri Gauranga-dhama. May you nicely worship the Divine Couple, and may you develop loving attachment for Their Holy Names. By the mercy of My devotees, all obstacles are cast far away. With a purified heart, just perform the worship of Radha and Krsna, for such worship overflows with sweet nectar.”
ei boli’ kabe mora mastaka-upara
sviya sri-carana harse dharibe isvara
amani jugala-preme sattvika vikare
dharaya lutibo ami sri-nrsimha-dvare
Saying this, will that Lord delightedly place His own divine lotus-feet upon my head? I will experience sublime love for the Divine Couple Radha-Krsna and undergo the ecstatic transformations called sattvika. Falling on the ground, I will roll about at the door of Sri Narasimha’s temple.
(Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, - “Sri Navadvipa Bhava Taranga”, 36-40)
All glories to Lord Nrsimhadeva who destroys all the obstacles on the path of devotion!
All glories to Lord Nrsimhadeva who grants those who worship Him pure love for the Divine Couple!
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
It’s a Tough Life here in New Vrindaban
I took advantage of the nice weather today and went and hung out with the calves. It is always a little tough when you go by yourself because it is difficult to give adequate attention to both of them.
It’s a tough life here in New Vrindaban.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Upadeshavali Verse 8 Meditations
“Preaching without following proper conduct falls within the category of karma, mundane activity. Without criticizing the nature of other, one should correct one’s self - this is my personal instruction.”
Here Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati instructs us that despite the fact that we may be engaged in what appears to be the highest form of devotional service, preaching, instead of becoming liberated we may actually be further entangling ourselves in bondage in this material world.
This is a general principle stated by Srila Krishna Das Kaviraja in the Adi Lila 8.16 Where he says, “Even if one is engaged in devotional service beginning with hearing and chanting, and all the other process of devotional service, for many births if one does not accept Lord Caitanya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead he will not get the treasure of Love of God.†In Srila Prabhupada’s translation he makes it clear to us that this verse is also speaking about the ten offences in regards to chanting the holy names.
Mahaprabhu declares in Chaitanya Bhagavata that, “My name is a wish fulfilling desire tree, but that same wish fulfilling desire tree will destroy anyone who blasphemes my servant. All the living entities in the numberless universes are my devotees, anyone who commits any violence against any other living entity will be destroyed.â€
In the Srimad Bhagavatam 3.29.22 it is stated “One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramätmä, is situated in every living entity’s heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into ashes.â€
If one commits offenses in one’s devotional activities one cannot achieve the results of devotional service.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati would tell the story of the “wedding party.†The family of the groom along with the groom left late at night because they had to travel a long distance and when they got in the boat the boat man began rowing very enthusiastically, and everyone thought that they were moving very fast. But when the sun rose they saw that they were in the same place, and they realized that they had forgotten to pull up the anchor.
So here Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur gives us specific instructions in regards preaching.
Preaching is such a powerful way to make advancement in Krishna consciousness. Krishna Himself declares in Bhagavad Gita that “For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.â€
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has personally ordered all his followers to become gurus and preach the message of Krishna consciousness, “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Çré Kåñëa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.â€
On another occasion Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed, “One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhärata-varña] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.†Here Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gives a further instruction that first one should perfect ones own life before engages in this highest welfare work for the benefit of all people.
One should preach but just as in all aspect of devotional service there is a certain quality that must be present in one’s service in order to reap the benefits.
The second part of Srila Bhaktisiddhanata Saraswati Thakurs statement here is in regards to criticizing others, “Without criticizing the nature of others, one should correct one’s self - this is my personal instruction.â€
The propensity to criticize is the hallmark quality of the conditioned state of life. In Srila Rupa Goswami’s Upadeshamrita he says that a first class devotee is someone who free from the propensity to criticize others.
As with all other aparadhas in the other aspects of devotional service the root is pride, and the remedy to overcome them is Mahaprabhus instruction to “be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, to offer all respects to others, and to expect none in return.â€
In the name of preaching, one may fall victim to the tendency to criticize, because now as a “preacher†one finally has an excuse to tell others what to do, to criticize others, to act in a proud way.
Anyone taking up the service of preaching must be especially careful not to commit spiritual suicide by indulging in criticizing others.
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Gauranga Kishore Das
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Where the grass is greener…
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Grandma A-Leesh (aka Asafoetida)
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Burned By The False Ego
OK, this post is to appease Soma’s sense of irony. When he is in New Vrindaban he stays at Varsana’s who has a space going out from the temple past the Palace. He had walked down to the temple to use the Laundromat and was returning via the lake path.
There he came upon us in […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Madhava Gosh
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Appearance Day of Lord Nrsinga Dev
New Vrindavan, WV
Celebrating Appearance day of Lord Nrsinga Dev on Monday, April 30th 2007
Every one is invited
4.30 pm - 5.45 pm Bhajan Kirtan
5.45 pm – 6.40 pm Nrsinga Dev Pastimes Narration
6.40 pm –7.00 pm Drama Presentation by Brijabasi Players
7.00 pm – 8.00 pm Arati and Abhishek
8.00 pm Feast
Please bring cooked offerings and other […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by mg
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Children’s Activites During Nrsimhadev Festival
Ramlila dasi will be offering children’s activities (for ages 6 and up) during the Lord Nrsimhadeva festival at the temple on Monday, April 30. The time will be about 6-7p.m. (during the temple class). She will be in the Madhavaclassroom.
Children may complete their mask, or those who have not begun one may do so […]
No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by mg
Sunday, April 29th, 2007
Going to Walden
“Going to Walden is not so easy a thing
As a green visit. It is the slow and difficult
Trick of living, and finding it where you are.”
—-Mary Oliver, Going to Walden