Pages

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

5 lessons for life plans

1. Make spiritual plans increased Sadhana and Seva (Sankirtan seva)
2. Be aware of what you are after. What am I asking for - when I get it will I be peaceful.
3. Follow the Shastra for perfection. Don't catch the dog's tail!
4. Pray for help. Pray very very hard to Krishna
5. Be patient. Study how Krishna thinks, how he works, study what He says and have complete trust in what He says. Krishna knows! Wait for Him to do His part, He knows what to do, when to do it.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Karthik Realization

After intense prayers to Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji, my desire to take the family to Vrindavan, Mayapur and Puri was granted by the mercy of Gurudeva and Gauranga. This year, we had the opportunity to go to the Dhaam during Karthik. The real treat was seeing the faces of the kids as they visited all the places we had spoken about - Kaliya ghaat, Yamuna, Vrindavan desire trees, Panchatattva in Mayapur and so many many beautiful places.

We tried to serve the Dhaam by visiting the holy places and also reading about the glories at each place. There is so much mercy flowing in the Dhaam and we just need to enlarge our pot to take in the mercy.

After leaving the Dhaam, we have been missing it. Gurudeva shared - If you can't be there, feel there! Additionally, Gurudeva also shared that Srila Prabhupada has created so many Kunjas here that we can live in the Dhaam while being here in the material world.

All we need to do is immerse ourselves and as soon as we close our eyes we will be transported there.

Jayo Radhe, Jayo Krishna, Jayo Vrindavan....

Friday, August 31, 2018

New Car; Accident; Realizations

I recently met with an accident and the whole experience was very profound. We had bought a brand new car and I was feeling very protective of it. Making sure I wipe off fingerprints, using all the new features etc. I was so protective that I started feeling that it's "My Car". Krishna sure enough again helped me to get out of this mood.

One fine day, I was just driving down the road when I got hit from the side. The hit was so hard that air bags deployed. Immediately, after the impact I remember, sitting in the car, feeling sorry that "My new car" was hit and badly damaged. The car's head console announced that I've been hit and been in an accident and automatically called the emergency numbers.

I remember reciting the Narasimha prayers and praying to Narasimha Dev, while waiting for the emergency respondents to arrive at the scene. At that time I was still so connected to "My car", I was feeling so sad that "my" brand new car had been hit and now I have to deal with it.

After all the fun stuff of talking to the Police, the firemen, the EMT, the insurance, doctors, I had time to reflect on what just happend. I thought, I'm sure Krishna has a plan and He just wants me to have faith. I also remembered Krishna protected me somehow, it could have been much worse and this was Krishna's plan and I should just go with it.

Fast forward - after multiple insurance calls, body shop calls, rental company calls, lawyer calls, I found out that "my car" was completely totalled which meant the amount it would take to fix the car was more than the actual value of the car. I now had to buy a new car but insurance paid me the value of the car.

I was finally able to buy a new car and going through physical therapy. As I look back on the entire episode, I had the following realizations:

1. Nothing belongs to me. I was attached to the car, but it's all Krishna's. In one min the car I was attached to was - GONE!
2. Krishna did it for a reason, even though I don't understand the reason, I need to have the faith in Krishna's plan.
3. Always be devoted to Krishna no matter what the situation and that will please Krishna.
4. Nobody will help you except having firm faith in Krishna and then Krishna reciprocates.
5. In the end, it was for the better and Krishna protected me.

Gurudeva says = Don't love the car, because....the car won't love you back!

Your servant,
Naimisaranya Dasa

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Second Initiation

Sri-gopika got her second initiation today and I feel so indebted and grateful to Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji's. I also feel immense mercy of HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj. Ever since we've moved to Dallas, I can feel an immense flow of grace. Today, I also realize the power of devotee association and how rapidly Sri-gopika has made progress due to her commitment, firm faith and being pure. Purity is the force. 4 years back before moving to this community our life was completely different and today it is making me realize what a difference it has made for us. HH Giriraj Maharaj has been so kind and merciful to us. I have deep appreciation for him and the more I know him, my appreciation grows deeper and deeper.

I'm praying to dear Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji to always keep me under their kind lotus feet shelter and to always give me their sidelong glances. I pray I'm able to serve the kind vaishnavas at the Kalachandji Dhaam always.

Your servant,
Naimisaranya Dasa 

Friday, June 8, 2018

Three stages of the process of purification by chanting the Holy Name

The chanting is a process of purification. The three stages of chanting are:

1. Clean the mirror of the mind - The mind is the best friend and the worst enemy. For one who has learnt to control the mind it is the best of friends but for one who has failed to do so it is the worst enemy. Due to the long term association, the mind absorbed in material things has become contaminated or dirty, the chanting process purifies the mind.

2. When the mind is cleansed one becomes free from the symptoms of material existence. Material existence means to always hankering and lamenting. The second stage is to be free from this anxiety.

3. Third stage is " He never laments or desires to have any thing; he is equally disposed to every living entity, In that state he attains pure devotional service unto me (Bg 18.54)"

So chant and hear. When you distribute the holy name of the Lord it is like giving charity (Dadati principle), same way one must follow the pratigrhnati principle and be willing and ready to receive the transcendental gift.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Power of Chanting Hare Krsna Maha Mantra

Srila Prabhupada says in a lecture - Just by chanting the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra and hearing properly, we can achieve all perfection and be able to understand all topics - who is God, Who we are, what is our relationship. Important thing is to chant with that faith and just hear the Holy Name 24 hrs a day.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Sadhu Sanga

From HH Giriraj Maharaj's class at Sadhu Sanga 2017 - Sadhu Sanga means getting the association of devotees who are more advanced than you. When we take the humble position that everyone is more advanced than you, you can get sadhu sanga from everyone and learn something from everyone and progress in your spiritual life.

Friday, March 2, 2018

Beautiful verse from Śrī Mādhavendra Purī

https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/4/197/



ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he
mathurā-nātha kadāvalokyase
hṛdayaṁ tvad-aloka-kātaraṁ
dayita bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham

Translation
“O My Lord! O most merciful master! O master of Mathurā! When shall I see You again? Because of My not seeing You, My agitated heart has become unsteady. O most beloved one, what shall I do now?”

Purport
The uncontaminated devotees who strictly depend on the Vedānta philosophy are divided into four sampradāyas, or transcendental parties. Out of the four sampradāyas, the Śrī Madhvācārya-sampradāya was accepted by Mādhavendra Purī. Thus he took sannyāsa according to paramparā, the disciplic succession. Beginning from Madhvācārya down to the spiritual master of Mādhavendra Purī, the ācārya named Lakṣmīpati, there was no realization of devotional service in conjugal love. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī introduced the conception of conjugal love for the first time in the Madhvācārya-sampradāya, and this conclusion of the Madhvācārya-sampradāya was revealed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu when He toured southern India and met the Tattvavādīs, who supposedly belonged to the Madhvācārya-sampradāya.

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa left Vṛndāvana and accepted the kingdom of Mathurā, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, out of ecstatic feelings of separation, expressed how Kṛṣṇa can be loved in separation. Thus devotional service in separation is central to this verse. Worship in separation is considered by the Gauḍīya-Madhva-sampradāya to be the topmost level of devotional service. According to this conception, the devotee thinks of himself as very poor and neglected by the Lord. Thus he addresses the Lord as dīna-dayārdra nātha, as did Mādhavendra Purī. Such an ecstatic feeling is the highest form of devotional service. Because Kṛṣṇa had gone to Mathurā, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was very much affected, and She expressed Herself thus: “My dear Lord, because of Your separation My mind has become overly agitated. Now tell Me, what can I do? I am very poor and You are very merciful, so kindly have compassion upon Me and let Me know when I shall see You.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was always expressing the ecstatic emotions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī that She exhibited when She saw Uddhava at Vṛndāvana. Similar feelings, experienced by Mādhavendra Purī, are expressed in this verse. Therefore, Vaiṣṇavas in the Gauḍīya-Madhva-sampradāya say that the ecstatic feelings experienced by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu during His appearance came from Śrī Mādhavendra Purī through Īśvara Purī. All the devotees in the line of the Gauḍīya-Madhva-sampradāya accept these principles of devotional service.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Japa Realizations


  1. Krishna is dancing on my tongue when I chant. He's dancing in the same way like He was dancing on head of Kaliya. I'm praying to Krishna - O Krishna, just in the way you danced on Kaliya's head and removed all the poison from his heart, in the same way please dance on my tongue and remove all the poison - lust, anger, greed, illusion,madness and envy which is so deeprooted in my heart. 
  2. Remain on the path firmly just like you are going around Govardhan Parikrama. There will be many paths from the main Parikrama marg, but be firmly situated on the marg so we can reach our goal faster. If we consider the analogy some more, we really aren't getting anywhere than coming back to the same point from where we started. The journey is the same as the goal and hence do it with love and devotion as a service to Krishna.
  3. When going on a parikrama, we are serving Govardhan. How? It's like a big flower garland and we are ornamets going around the big flower garland and seeing us, others get motivated as well and learn the greatness of Giriraj.
  4. Hear the mantra - meditate on the Sanskrit writing.
  5. Remember the lotus feet of Krishna
  6. Eyes of Lord Jagannatha
  7. Pray to Tulsi Maharani, please make me your maidservant.
  8. Posture is very important - 3Ps = Posture, Pronunciation, Prayer
  9. Gundica Marjana - Cleanse your heart, Japa is cleansing the heart so it's ready to pull Krishna's chariot into your heart. 
  10. Have a special place to chant, have a special Gambhira in your life. Read Srila Prabhupada's books and spread it.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Gift of human life


  • Some realizations from this week:
  • Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  • We are parts and parcels of Krishna.
  • We have an eternal relationship with Krishna which we have forgotten.
  • Krishna has very mercifully given us this human form of life, which we have got after millions of lifetimes, to be able to remember our forgotten relationship with him.
  • We can remember and go back to our home in this very lifetime.
  • The only means to remember is to chant the Holy Name and perform devotional service of sharing this gift with everyone. 
  • We should take full advantage of the gift we have received by being serious in our devotional practice otherwise everything will be lost and we have no guarantee how long it will take us to again have all these ideal conditions.
  • Krishna has given me kids, which are a very important responsibility. He feels I will be able to help them in their journey to go back home in this lifetime. I should provide the suitable environment to help them grow in their spiritual practice in this lifetime. 
  • To grow spiritually - chant rounds sincerely, read Srila Prabhupada's books, Devotee association, Deity worship and always remember Vrindavan vaas.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Reflections from Govardhan Yatra 2017


  • Gurudev walks fast during Parikrama. He will take us back home back to Godhead, but if we don't do our endeavor, we can be left behind. Hence, we have to do our bit to keep up on the boat which is going directly back Home. 
  • Just give this lifetime to Krsna, there have been multiple lifetimes I've enjoyed for myself, this lifetime give it to Krsna.
  • Many times during Karthik, I remembered why I'm here, alone leaving family, spending so much time and money and helped me realize, I'm here to serve my Gurudeva and the Dhaam and the Vaishnavas. That meditation helped me to always remained focused in serving. 
  • Always give your 100% in serving with your body, mind and words.
  • When you are falling behind during parikrama, all we need to do is increase our step by a little centimeter to catch up. Same with spiritual practice, try to increase our step by a little bit and we will start seeing differences.
  • Magical chanting at Radha Kunda. Krsna gave me a bhakti molecule to allow me to go deeper in my practice.
  • Always cry out to Krsna, Please help me Please help me and He will help you.
  • Everyone notices when you do service for sake of just serving others and not for personal credit. So serve in the right mood. Give everything to please Krsna, Srila Prabhupada and Gurudeva.
  • Chant very very attentively and Krsna will reveal as we surrender to the process.
  • Lotus feet of Gurudeva
  • Always have a sankalpa/prayer before we start parikrama, chanting etc and we can meditate on that prayer during our service.
  • Be focused while doing seva so we can do seva in the right mood. When doing parikrama for example Gurudeva was focussed on that seva to Giriraja.
  • We are ornaments going around when doing parikrama like a flower garland. Giriraja remembers, oh this jiva is back.
  • Over time we will see affect. 
  • When doing parikrama, there are many things which come in our way, but we have to be focused on our seva and be fixed to complete our parikrama. Same way, during chanting many things will come our way but we have to be fixed. Same way in life, we will have many items to distract us but we need to be fixed on our path of KC
  • This gift is very very precious and we have no guarantee if we will again get access to it in our next life, we have to take advantage of it in this life time and if we sincerely follow the process we can go back home back to Godhead in this lifetime only!
  • Don't focus on seeing Krishna but focus on Krishna seeing you, same way focus on Gurudeva seeing you with you seva instead of you seeing Gurudeva.
  • Have compassion for all Vaishnavas.
  • Study Srila Prabhupada's books, everything is there in them.
  • Chant your rounds very very sincerely.

Reflections from work layoff

Nov 8th 2017, I got my layoff notice and it was something I wasn't expecting. I realized this is how material life is: Things happen suddenly when you least expect it. I also realized how important it is to always be ready and have that firm faith so these things don't affect us. During the process of searching for a job, I realized that this was Krsna's plan all along. I have been praying to Krsna to help me get a job so I'm able to have a good schedule, one which I can follow and have a good work, life balance. I realized Krsna was directly intervening to help me come closer to him. My faith has increased going through this process of losing a job, searching for a job and seeing Krsna always helping me. I'm hoping I always remember this and multiple other instances where Krsna has helped me and constantly be devoted to Krsna in good or bad. Always be able to be engaged in His service.

Reflections on getting sick

I have a high fever and body ache. Last night it was very hard to even breathe as my airways were blocked and I was breathing through my mouth, very uncomfortable. It made me realize, that at time of death, I'm not only going to be in a similar situation but only worse, probably on a hospital bed with no ability to move or share with others how I'm feeling as I wouldn't have the strength to express myself. My only hope would be to think about Lord Krsna's lotus feet and surrender myself to Him.

Then, I realized, well who knows when death is going to come, it might happen today, tomorrow etc, so it's very important to take this process very seriously and be able to take full advantage of this human form of life. This is the boat provided by Krsna to be able to cross this material ocean of birth and death. Sometimes (most of the times) we take this process for granted but by devotee association and reading Srila Prabhupada's books we understand what a precious gift we have received.

Praying to all Vaishnavas to bless me so I can take this process seriously. Hare Krsna!