Celebrating 29 years of singing and dancing

SRI SRI RADHA RADHANATH KI JAI !!!

The Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple of Understanding places the bustling suburb of Chatsworth on the map as a tourist destination.  Situated approximately 15km from Durban International airport and 20km from Durban City Centre, its three collosal domes of white and gold rises above a dazzling octagonal roof.  The temple has been acclaimed as an architectural masterpiece – a spiritual wonderland.  Although, designed and constructed in the 1980's, it's design is a combination of the traditional, contemporary and futuristic;  and simultaneously a fusion of concepts showcasing "east meets west".  The ancient "vasta purusha mandala" formula is imbibed in its geometrical lay-out with shapes such as circles, trianles, squares and octagons, holding great spiritual symbolism and philosophical meaning enhanced by its unique setting in the midst of a moat of water and water features, surrounded by a sprawling luscious lotus shaped garden.      

In 1975 His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (the founder acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness-ISKCON), upon his one and only visit to South Africa, instructed his disciples that a temple be built in the heart of Chatsworth.  Taking this instruction very seriously, a dedicated team of devotees worked tirelessly and in the face of many formidable challenges, including the reigning government's apartheid policies.  With a deep desire to fulfill their spiritual master's order, the devotees peservered and sought out the best materials for use in the construction.  Marble tiles where shipped in from Portugal and oakwood from Japan.  Devotees formed their own construction company and used their talents and expertise to make the design a reality, engaging in every aspect of construction – from excavation, brick-laying, plastering, tiling, painting to mirrorwork, intricate carvings and  gold-leafing.  A team of devotees crossed the length and breadth of South Africa to collect funds for the construction.  Finally, the resilient team were successful when the doors of the Hare Krishna Temple were officially opened to the public on 17 October 1985. 

It has earned the reputation of being the most beautiful temple on the African continent.  Little wonder that over 2,5 million guests pass through its doors each year.  It has also become renowned for the sumptuous vegetarian served at the ground floor, Govinda's restaurant and take-away. 

The Temple worship commences at 4.30am every morning and ends at 8.45pm nightly.  There are eight aratika ceremonies and offerings presented to the presiding deities, Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Radhanath, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Giriraj Govardhan each day.  Every Sunday afternoon, commencing at 4pm a special progamme is held consisting of aratika, guru-puja, discourse from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, questions and answers, cultural entertainment followed by a traditional ISKCON love feast.  This practice is followed in all  ISKCON centers around the world to enforce that no person should go hungry within a radius of 10km from the Temple.

Following through with the distribution of prasadam (sanctified food) ISKCON prides itself in distributing meals to the underpriveledged on a daily basis.  The Food For Life program has been in existence for over 20 years and have satisfied millions of hungry stomachs thus far.  

The Temple upholds the seven principles of ISKCON of which book distribution is fundamental.  Further, an internationally recognized Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture was conceived and inaugurated at this temple in 1991 and currently has over 1000 registered students formally pursuing an in-depth study and analysis of Vedic literature. 

The Vaisnava calendar with all its festivals are observed with great pomp and splendour, the most prominent of which is Sri Krishna Janmastami (Appearance of Lord Sri Krishna) were over 10 000 guests converge upon the temple to offer worship, participate in abhishek ceremonies, enjoy the cultural entertainment programme and relish Krishna prasadam. 

And of course ISKCON KwaZulu-Natal is renowned worldwide for hosting the biggest Ratha-yatra (Festival of Chariots) outside of India.  Annually over Easter weekend Lord Jagannath's chariots take to the streets of Durban, followed by thousands of devotees and onlookers, finally reaching the tent city that has been erected for the ensuing days of the festival,  showcasing Vedic culture in all its various forms.

The Sri Sri Radhanatha Temple of Understanding is remains a spiritual oasis, a retreat for those wanting to understand their purpose in life, a sanctuary from material chaos and a haven to society. 

Entrance is open to all and admission is free to the temple and its festivals.  For directions to the temple (50 Bhaktivedanta Swami Circle, Chatsworth) or to book a guided tour email iskcon.durban@pamho.net or telephone (+27)31- 4033328. visit website at iskcondurban.net

PICTURES BY : Revati Priya Mataji

                      Devadeva Das Prabhu

                      iskcon Durdan Facebook page

All glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada 

"He built a house in which the whole world could live in"

Glories of Kartik

Whatever one does for Krishna–at any time, at any place, under any circumstance–is to one’s eternal benefit:

nehabhikrama-naso ‘sti
pratyavayo na vidyate

“In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.”

-Krishna, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Ch.2

Such is the benefit of devotional service in general. However, during certain times of year–such as appearance anniversaries of Lord Krishna and His devotees–the benefits of one’s service are compounded.
During the month of Damodar, or Kārttika (October/November), rewards for service to Krishna are greater than at any other time of year. For instance, Krishna always likes tulasi leaves, so it’s always a good time to offer tulasi leaves to Krishna. However, in the Hari-bhakti-vilas of Sanatan Goswami, we find these statements:
“The result one obtains by giving ten thousand cows in charity can be obtained by offering only one tulasi leaf to the Supreme Lord during the month of Kārttika.” (7.335)
and…
“Those who worship Lord Hari with an offering of one hundred thousand tulasi leaves during the month of Kārttika certainly advance on the path of pure devotional service, which includes liberation, with each leaf offered. (7.336)”
It is also recommended to offer malati (very fragrant white jasmine-like flowers) to Krishna, and here’s what Hari-bhakti-vilasa says about malati offerings during Kārttika:
“It is better to offer malati flowers to Lord Kesava in the month of Kārttika than to donate gold, cows, or land to worthy recipients.
Malati flowers are pleasing to Lord Kesava (Krishna) in whatever month they are offered. In the month of Kārttika, the offering of malati flowers awards one the merit of performing a horse sacrifice. “
I would have to do some research to find exactly what the merit of performing a horse sacrifice is.
It is easy to understand the importance of the following statement, though, considering that Yamaraja is the universal superintendent in charge of meting out punishment to those who transgress karmic law:
“For a devotee who worships Lord Vishnu with offerings of malati flowers in the month of Kārttika, Yamaraja orders the removal of all his sinful reactions from the account book.” (7.90-92)
Not bad. And the list goes on. Whatever you offer–tulasi, malati, ghee lamps, time, energy, attention–takes on greater significance this month.
Kārttika could be thought of as the ultimate “buy one, get a-whole-lot-more free” sale, or the equivalent of a “super, multi-triple word score” in the game of Scrabble. For a limited time only, whoever is lucky (or greedy, or intelligent) enough to do some service for Krishna during this special month gets a uniquely huge return on their investment. The ultimate return: one becomes more Krishna conscious.
*** ***
It was during Kārttika that Krishna allowed Himself to be bound with ropes by His mother, Yasoda. Out of loving anger at her transcendentally naughty child, she tied him (dama) around the abdomen (udara) with ropes. Thus the month of Kārttika is also known as the month of Damodara, “He Who was bound around the abdomen”.
Srila Prabhupada discusses this at some length in Nectar of Devotion (quoting Padma Purana):
“During this month, in Vrndavana it is the regulative principle to pray daily to Lord Krishna in His Damodara form. The Damodara form refers to Krishna in His childhood when He was tied up with rope by His mother, Yasoda. Dama means ‘ropes,’ and udara means ‘the abdomen.’ So mother Yasoda, being very disturbed by naughty Krsna, bound Him round the abdomen with a rope, and thus Krishna is named Damodara.” (Chapter 5, page 42)
He elaborates on this in the section “Performing Devotional Service in Kārttika:”
“… in the month of Kārttika (October-November); especially in Vrndavana, there is a specific program for temple worship of the Lord in His Dāmodara form. “Dāmodara” refers to Krishna’s being bound with rope by His mother, Yaśodā. It is said that just as Lord Dāmodara is very dear to His devotees, so the month known as Dāmodara or Kārttika is also very dear to them…
The execution of devotional service during Ūrja-vrata in the month of Kārttika is especially recommended to be performed at Mathurā. This system is still followed by many devotees. They go to Mathurā or Vrndavana and stay there during the month of Kārttika specifically to perform devotional services during this period.”
Prabhupada makes a point to say it is “especially recommended” to perform devotional service during Kārttika in Mathura, or Vrindavana. This is not to say that Kārttika’s benefits are exclusively available there, but devotees who are able to go make the trip if at all possible.
“Urja-vrata” refers to the acceptance of special vows during Kārttika. Devotees often take vows to increase their hearing, chanting, worship, or to observe restrictions in their eating. Making and keeping such vows during the month of Damodara guarantees compounded benefits.
Prabhupada ends Nectar of Devotion’s section on Kārttika with an interesting commentary from Padma Purana:
“…the Lord does not award devotional service to ordinary persons who are not serious about it. But even such unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Kārttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathurā in India, are very easily awarded the Lord’s personal service.” (N.O.D., Chapter 12)
If even an “unserious” person can attain Krishna’s personal service, simply by “executing devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Kārttika”–wouldn’t it then also be a seriously good time to get serious?

Kartik vows

07 Oct 2014 by KKSBlog Leave a Comment

Filed Under: All News, Quotes & TranscriptsTagged With: kartik

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 October 2009, Durban, South Africa, Lecture)

So, Kartika is the time to tighten up the loose screws, of all the loose ends and to bring it back to the real standard. Kartika, is our chance! It is only one month but of course, after that month, it becomes a habit! Habits are like that. If you do something for one month then it is easy to keep on doing it. So in this way, we can take so much advantage.

I thought my main objective in this month would be meditation, to increase my remembrance of Krsna and to increase my service, both in quantity and quality. I thought I will focus on quality especially because quantity is not so easy. Already there is so much to do in a day, already such a hectic life, how much more can I physically manage? And I do not want Kartika to become a total stress situation where I am just doing these very intense vows, the kind of vows that drive me to the edge and that at the end of the month, if I make it till the end, I just hate Kartika and may be even Krsna!

Not like that! No, I will not make it a month full of stress. Therefore, I thought, this year I will not do something huge, I will not take one really big vow. I have a different strategy; I will take many little vows! Also, Krsna gave me some idea about chanting. I thought, I am going to chant extra rounds but I am not going to fix it that every day I must chant so many extra rounds but I will just have fix a number for the whole month and then I can adjust it. I will have my busy days when I may chant less and on days that I have the opportunity, I will chant more; and in this way, it averages out. In this way, I will survive and I will still be chanting extra rounds. I thought it was a good idea, really!

Then I thought…Yes, I’ll read something! I thought, every night I will read for five minutes something about Krsna. I will read Krsna Book for five minutes a night. That is nice. It is not a big Kartika vow but it is something that you know is nice but that you just get slack in! It is one thing that you do not always do! But I said, in this month of Kartik I will do it.

So many such things… I will not tell you everything that I am going to do but I told you this much just to kind of inspire everyone of how we can do something. It is still early enough! After this lecture, you can quickly jot down a few things that you are going to do this month. Just a few things. And if we do that, if we really do it… then you will be surprised! You will surprise yourself! Really! You will find that your Krsna consciousness would have so much increased just from one month of practising, in the month of Kartika.

What is Disciplic sucession?

By disciplic succession it is meant a line of spiritual teachers that has transmitted the transcendental knowledge until the present day in an unaltered form starting from Lord Krishna.

A spiritual master must be in an authorized disciplic succession to be bonafide. It is not possible for someone to be a bonafide spiritual master in a line of spiritual authority that does not come from Krishna.

The principle is that Vaishnava teachings should be passed on, unchanged, from guru to disciple.

In sanskrit., disciplic succession is also called "Parampara".

We can understand how perfect knowledge can be received from Lord Krishna himself. In the Bhagavad Gita, particularly in Chapter 4 Text 2 Lord Krishna mentions:

evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh

This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.

Spiritual knowledge descends through the disciplic succession from Krishna. The representatives of the disciplic succession carry the pure message of Krishna without changing anything. The transcendental knowledge (divya jnana) is like a river flowing from one acarya to the next. It's source is Krishna who directs it to a qualified disciple who realizes, preserves and directs it to his qualified disciple who again realizes, preserves and directs it to his successor and so on until it arrives here.

- See more at: http://gaudiyahistory.com/disciplic-sucession/#sthash.SSGg9Rni.dpuf

Who Is Srila Prabhupada?

Srila Prabhupada, known as His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appeared in this world in Calcutta, India on Nandotsava, the annual festival day celebrating Krishna’s birth, in the year of 1896. His father was a pure devotee of Lord Krishna who would always invite holy men to his house for meals and ask them to bless his son to become a great devotee of Radharani, Lord Krishna’s most beloved devotee and consort. Srila Prabhupada’s father once bought him a small cart to pull the Deity of Lord Jagannatha, as they do during the great Rathayatra festival in Jagannatha Puri. So even as a child Srila Prabhupada would organize little festivals centered around Krishna in his neighborhood.

Prabhupada later attended Scottish Church College in Calcutta, which was administered by the British. Later, he joined Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement and refused to accept his diploma from that college as a type of protest, although he had actually completed all the requirements for the degree. After this, a friend of his father, Dr. Bose, made him a manager of his chemical company.

Thereafter, in 1918, Prabhupada became married and soon started a family.He first met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, in Calcutta in 1922. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a prominent religious scholar and the founder of sixty-four Gaudiya Mathas (Vedic institutes), liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge.

Srila Prabhupada became his student, and eleven years later (1933) at Allahabad he became his formally initiated disciple. At their first meeting, in 1922, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati requested Srila Prabhupada to broadcast Vedic knowledge through the English language. In the years that followed, Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita, and in 1944 started “Back to Godhead”, an English fortnightly magazine. Maintaining the publication was a struggle. Single-handedly, Srila Prabhupada edited it, typed the manuscripts, checked the galley proofs, and even distributed the individual copies. Once begun, the magazine never stopped; it is now being continued by his disciples in the West and is published in over thirty languages.Recognizing Prabhupada’s philosophical learning and devotion, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Society honored him in 1947 with the title “Bhaktivedanta”. 

On the order of his spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada began translating and writing Vedic literature in the English language to bring the message of Lord Krishna to the Western countries. In 1950, at the age of fifty-four, Srila Prabhupada retired from married life, adopting the vanaprastha (retired) order to devote more time to his studies and writing. Srila Prabhupada traveled to the holy city of Vrindavana, where he lived in very humble circumstances in the historic medieval temple of Radha-Damodara. There he engaged for several years in deep study and writing. He accepted the renounced order of life (sannyasa) in 1959. At Radha-Damodara, Srila Prabhupada began work on his life’s masterpiece: a multivolume annotated translation of the eighteen-thousand-verse Srimad-Bhagavatam. He also wrote “Easy Journey to Other Planets”.

After publishing three volumes of the Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada came to the United States of America, in September 1965, to fulfill the mission of his spiritual master. Subsequently, His Divine Grace wrote more than sixty volumes of authoritative annotated translations and summary studies of the philosophical and religious classics of India.When he first arrived by freighter in New York City, Srila Prabhupada was practically penniless.

Only after almost a year of great difficulty did he establish the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in July of 1966.Thereafter, he continued to distribute this spiritual knowledge and the process of singing and chanting Hare Krishna all over the world. He traveled around the world 12 times and visited every major country to take bhakti-yoga and harinama sankirtana to the western countries. He gave thousands of lectures, wrote thousands of letters, and met with many important scholars and dignitaries who very much appreciated his efforts. Therefore, it was Srila Prabhupada who had been predicted by the previous acharyas, and by Sri Caitanya, and even by Lord Krishna in the ancient Puranas, as the person who would spread this new spiritual awareness.

Before his passing away on November 14, 1977, he guided the Society and saw it grow to a worldwide confederation of more than one hundred ashramas, schools, temples, institutes and farm communities.Srila Prabhupada also inspired the construction of several large international cultural centers in India. The center at Sridhama Mayapur in West Bengal is the site for a planned spiritual city, an ambitious project for which construction will extend over many years to come.

In Vrindavana, India, is the magnificent Krishna-Balarama Temple with an International Guesthouse, and the Srila Prabhupada Memorial and Museum. There is also a major cultural and educational center in Bombay. Other centers are planned in a dozen important locations on the Indian subcontinent. Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution, however, is his books. Highly respected by the academic community for their authority, depth and clarity, they are used as standard textbooks in numerous college courses. His writings have been translated into over fifty languages.

The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 to publish the works of His Divine Grace, has thus become the world’s largest publisher of books in the field of Indian religion and philosophy.In just twelve years, in spite of his advanced age, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents. In spite of such a vigorous schedule, Srilla Prabhupada continued to write prolifically. His writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.He wrote 51 volumes of books with translations in 28 languages, especially Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, so anyone can take advantage of this knowledge.

He established 108 temples in most major cities around the world, and touched so many people who can also teach this philosophy that this genuine spiritual knowledge, as predicted in the ancient Puranic literature, will continue to spread and be available for at least the next 10,000 years.

http://iskconnews.org/devotees-discover-prabhupadas-belongings-at-delhi-residence,4329/

more picture can be seen at: 

https://www.facebook.com/SP16108/timeline

hari haribol

all glories to Srila Prabhuada 

HE BUILT A HOUSE IN WHICH THE WHOLE WORLD COULD LIVE IN 

JAYA JAYA SRILA PRABHUPADA

WHO AM I?

A Simple Test for Thoughtful People. Am I my head or my face? No, it is my face. Am I my chest ? No, it is my chest. Am I my arm or my hand ? Am I my leg ? No, it is my leg. All the parts of my body—indeed, my entire body—is mine. But who am I, the owner of the body?

Am I my head or my face ? No, it is my face. Am I my chest ? No, it is my chest. Am I my arm or my hand ? Am I my leg ? No, it is my leg. All the parts of my body—indeed, my entire body—is mine. But who am I, the owner of the body ?

If we perform the experiment as above, we can immediately come to the very first understanding in spiritual life: we are not our bodies; rather we are conscious of them. Under the influence of illusion, however, we falsely identify ourselves with our bodies and think we belong to a certain family, nation, race, religion, political party, and so on. The goal of human life is to awaken from this illusion and become reinstated in our real identities as fully conscious spiritual beings.
Our daily lives can be compared to acting in a play. We have become so absorbed with our temporary roles in this play that we have completely forgotten our true offstage identities. Someone is taking the part of our parent, another person is acting as our lover, another as our friend or foe, but actually it is all simply a performance; our real identities are something else. Our very bodies are nothing more than costumes, but out of illusion we identify ourselves with them and try to relate to others on the basis of these costumes. The resulting relationships are not false; they are real, but they are temporary and therefore illusory. When the curtain falls on our play—when death comes—all the different relationships we have cultivated during our lives will be finished, and our real self, an individually conscious spirit soul, will be transferred to a new situation.

The Nature of Consciousness

Modern scientists have touched upon the properties of the spirit soul in their research into anti-material particles. A fundamental assumption of their theory is that there may exist another world, an anti-material world, composed of anti- particles. They conjecture that this anti-material world might consist of atomic and sub-atomic particles spinning in reverse orbits to those of the world we know.

But if we really want to find out about the nature of consciousness and its source, the anti-material spirit soul, we must go beyond the tentative gropings of mundane scientists. We must search out the revealed knowledge contained in the Vedas, the most ancient and widely recognized source of transcendental science in the world. Since the soul is imperceptible by our gross senses, the authoritative Vedic wisdom is the only means for understanding it. We must accept many things solely on the basis of superior authority. For example, if I want to know who my father is, I must accept the authority of my mother. I cannot experimentally find out his identity; I must simply use intelligent discrimination to find the right source of knowledge. Similarly, to understand the science of the soul, we must turn to the Vedic literature, and specifically to the Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita contains the essence of the Vedas, for it is spoken by Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme All-knowing Personality of Godhead.

In the Bhagavad-gita (13.34), Lord Krishna says, “As the sun, situated in one place, illuminates the entire universe, so a small particle of spirit [the soul situated within the heart] illuminates the entire body with consciousness.” Just as sunshine proves the sun is present in the sky, consciousness proves the soul is present in the body. When the soul leaves the body, consciousness disappears and the body dies. Thus consciousness is the symptom of the soul’s presence in the body.

The Anti-material World

The material scientists misconceive the soul, a particle of anti-matter, to be only another variety of material energy. But real anti-matter must be anti-material, or spiritual. If matter is subject to annihilation, then anti-matter must be indestructible. Lord Krishna explains this quality of the soul in the following excerpts from the Bhagavad-gita (2.18, 16, 20):

“An immeasurable particle of anti-material energy is engaged within the material body (which includes the mind and intelligence). The material body is destructible, and as such it is changeable and temporary, as is the material world. But the anti-material force is indestructible and therefore permanent. For the anti-material particle, which is the vital force, there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does it ever cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever- existing, undying and primeval. When the material body is annihilated, the anti-material particle is never affected.” The Lord further explains how the soul transmigrates from one body to another. “The material body progressively changes from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to youth, and from youth to old age, after which the anti-material particle leaves the old, unworkable body and enters another material body.” (Bg. 2.13)

Thus, with some reflection we can understand a few of the characteristics of the material and the anti-material energies. The material energy is unconscious, lifeless, and temporary, being subject to the influence of time. Referred to in the Bhagavad-gita as the inferior or external energy, the material energy has eight divisions: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego. All mundane knowledge is limited to these eight material principles. On the other hand, the anti-material energy stands in opposition to all the material qualities. The anti-material particle of energy is the living force, described in the Bhagavad-gita as the superior or internal energy. The material body is animated by this living force, and when it is separated from the body, the body becomes useless and dies. The nature of the anti-material particle (the soul) is sat-cid-ananda—eternal, full of knowledge, and blissful—and as such it is undoubtedly superior to the material energy.

Uncovering Our Real Identity

Because we belong to the superior, spiritual energy, we cannot understand our true identity or achieve eternal happiness in full knowledge if we continue to act on the false platform of the inferior, material energy. But if all our relationships in this material world are temporary and illusory, then with whom can we establish a meaningful and lasting relationship? Lord Krishna answers this question in the Bhagavad-gita (9.17-18); “I am the father of this universe, the mother .. .and the most dear friend.” Thus we do not have to give up personal relationships, but rather re-establish our real, eternal relationship with our most dear friend, Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Lord explains elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gita how this material world is actually a perverted reflection of the spiritual world: everything in this material world is there in Lord Krishna’s abode, but in its ideal, perfect form, for that is the world of anti-matter or spirit. In the eternal kingdom of God, there are trees, animals, flowers, people and so on, but unlike the material world, they all exist in intimate loving relationships with Krishna.

Each of us has a place in the spiritual world, for that is our eternal home. As spiritual beings, we are not meant for this temporary world of matter. We are like a fish out of water: Just as a fish can never be happy with any number of comforts outside of the water, we can never be truly happy outside of the spiritual atmosphere of Krishna’s abode. If we persist in trying to find pleasure in this material world, only repeated frustration and suffering await us. But if we make it our only business to cultivate our eternal relationship with Krishna. we can gain re-entry into that transcendental realm of Vaikuntha, the world without anxiety, and attain a life of complete knowledge and endless bliss.