The fact is

The fact is that my native land is a prey to barbarism, that in it men's only God is their belly, that they live only for the present, and that the richer a man is the holier he is held to be.

-Saint Jerome

Lord krishna told him

Meenakshi Sinha, Bharatpur, : He stumbles and stoops, trying to get his footing right. But when he greets the audience, his voice is thunderous – “Hare Krishna Hare Ram, sabko meri Ram Ram.”

At 108 years, Nemi Baba is the oldest active Rajasthani folk musician. He plays the algoza, a wind instrument that resembles a pair of wooden flutes. With three fingers on each side of the flute and by breathing rapidly into it, the instrument emits a bouncing, swinging rhythm.

Though speculations about his age abound, Nemi, who seems to have no real idea about it, claims he’s been playing the algoza for 110 years. “He believes it. His sons believe it,” says Divya Bhatia, director of Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF). “Whatever be his age, for me the artist, the man and the legend are more important. There’s something deeply spiritual about Nemi’s attitude to life.”

When the wrestler-turned-baba was recently introduced at the RIFF at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, he debated for a long time whether to sit or stand even as the audience waited patiently. Then he dropped a bombshell. This would be his last performance here, he said, adding it was because Lord Krishna told him so.

Nemi has a quirky side – he barely smiles but laughs a lot, pounding his chest as if to show that the wrestler in him is still alive. He’s so connected with Krishna that he makes everyone recite a bhajan: “Hare Krishna Hare Ram/teri gele zharu Ram/hamare ghar aao Ram (Dear lord, I’m sweeping my house clean in your name. Do visit my abode).” He claims that regular recitation of it will ward off jealous neighbours.

Krishna could not have had a more devout disciple. At 45 years, Nemi started the parikrama of Braj chaurasi kos from Deeg. This circular journey of some 260km would cover the birthplace of Krishna and touch the districts of Kosi, Nandgram, Barsana, Hodal, Basna, Mathura and Govardhan. “I would complete the journey in six days,” he says. He continued the tradition for 24 years before his health forced him to drop out.

Ask him where he learnt to play the algoza and he recalls Krishna’s raas leela as if he was party to it. “Just like Krishna played the flute among the gopis and his cows, I, too, wandered with my buffalos near the village pond when I was 14 or 15. It was there that I carved the algoza from the trunk of the andara plant (a hollow plant like the bamboo) and have been playing it since.”

The musician, who comes from the Jat stronghold of Bedham in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, gave up his family and all worldly possessions when he was 55. Since then, he has been living in a small Radha Krishna temple, where he plays the algoza to his lord. He believes he sees the lord in every member of his audience.

While he wandered in the forests and slept in the temple, his wife would visit him to provide food and clothing and to pray together. One day, when she didn’t turn up, he went looking for her at home. She was unwell and resting. Seeing him, she reprimanded him for leaving his prayers incomplete and sent him back. When he returned, she had passed away.

Ask him how he feels today without her and he puts a brave front, but that’s only initially. Biyah kar diyo usne, bida kar diyo. Woh toh kushi kushi gayee apne ghar (“I got her married to the lord and bid her farewell. She went away happily.”) Prod further and he becomes listless. “Don’t ask, sister, how I feel,” he says, adding that he misses the kirtans with his wife. He has two sons and four grandsons.

His longevity could perhaps be attributed to his rich diet. As a wrestler, he would have 7-8 litres of milk daily and 15 litres of pure ghee in a week. Today, he prefers two litres of milk everyday and a meal of chapattis and vegetables. Nand Kishore, his grandon, explains helpfully that Nemi’s generation hardly consumed vegetables . “Most of their food was made up of milk, ghee and sweets.”

Nemi must have eaten well. It still shows, especially when he plays the algoza.

Jai Sri Radhe

Srimati Radharani

CC Adi lila 4.87:

"krsna vancha purti rupa kare aradhane ataeva radhika nama purane vakhane"

Her worship (aradhana) consists of fulfilling the desires of Lord Krsna. Therefore the Puranas call Her Radhika.

His Divine Grace, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prahbupada, on Radhastami, September 18, 1969, in London spoke the following:

"So what is the position of Srimati Radharani? We should try to understand this day and offer our obeisances to Radharani. Radhe vrndavanesvari.

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

Our business is "Radharani, You are so dear to Krsna. So we offer our respectful obeisances unto You."

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

Radharani is hari-priya, very dear to Krsna. So if we approach Krsna through Radharani, through the mercy of Radharani, then it becomes very easy. If Radharani recommends that "This devotee is very nice," then Krsna immediately accepts, however fool I may be. Because it is recommended by Radharani, Krsna accepts. Therefore in Vrndavana you'll find all the devotees, they're chanting more Radharani's name than Krsna's. Wherever you'll go, you'll find the devotees are addressing, "Jaya Radhe." You'll find still in Vrndavana. They are glorifying Radharani. They're more interested, worshiping Radharani. Because however fallen I may be, if some way or other I can please Radharani, then it is very easy for me to understand Krsna. Otherwise, manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye yatatam api siddhanam kascid vetti mam tattvatah (Bg. 7.3)

If you go by the speculative process to understand Krsna, it will take many, many lives. But if you take devotional service, just try to please Radharani, and Krsna will be gotten very easily. Because Radharani can deliver Krsna. She is so great devotee, the emblem of maha-bhagavata. Even Krsna cannot understand what is Radharani's quality. Even Krsna, although He says vedaham samatitani, "I know everything," still, He fails to understand Radharani. Radharani is so great. He says that... Actually, Krsna knows everything. In order to understand Radharani, Krsna accepted the position of Radharani. Krsna wanted to understand the potency of Radharani. Krsna thought that "I am full. I am complete in every respect, but still, I want to understand Radharani. Why?" This propensity made Krsna obliged to accept the propensities of Radharani, to understand Krsna, Himself.

These are, of course, very transcendental, great science. One who is advanced in Krsna consciousness and well conversant with the sastras, they can understand. But still, we can discuss from the sastra. When Krsna wanted to understand Himself, He took the tendency of Srimati Radharani. And that is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna, but He has accepted the propensities of Radharani. As Radharani is always in feelings of separation of Krsna, similarly, in the position of Radharani, Lord Caitanya was feeling separation of Krsna. That is the teachings of Lord Caitanya, feelings of separation, not meeting. The process of devotional service taught by Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His disciplic succession is how to feel separation from Krsna. That is Radharani's position, always feeling the separation. "

The 25 qualities of Srimati Radharani by which She captures Krsna:

1) She is sweetness personified.

2) She is a fresh young girl.

3) Her eyes are always moving.

4) She is always brightly smiling.

5) She possesses all auspicious marks on Her body.

6) She can agitate Krsna by the flavor of Her person.

7) She is expert in the art of singing.

8) She can speak very nicely and sweetly.

9) She is expert in presenting feminine attractions.

10) She is modest and gentle.

11) She is always very merciful.

12) She is transcendentally cunning.

13) She knows how to dress nicely.

14) She is always shy.

15) She is always respectful.

16) She is always patient.

17) She is very grave.

18) She is enjoyed by Krsna.

19) She is always situated on the highest devotional platform.

20) She is the abode of love of the residents of Gokula.

21) She can give shelter to all kinds of devotees.

22) She is always affectionate to superiors and inferiors.

23) She is the greatest amongst Krsna's girlfriends.

24) She is obliged by the dealings of Her associates.

25) She always keeps Krsna under Her control.

On pg 175 in "Nectar of Devotion," Srila Prabhupada writes, "A person who is unable to bear another's distress is called compassionate...Actually, because Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult to approach Him. But the devotees, taking advantage of His compassionate nature, which is represented by Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krsna's compassion."

Distributing Ecstacy

Sri Radhika (Hladini Shakti) and Sri Krishna

The very nature of Krishna has been described as "Ecstasy Himself." He is tasting the innate ecstasy of Himself. He knows His ecstasy and He feels it, but to distribute that innate ecstasy outside, a particular potency is indispensable, and that is known as hladini. The gist of hladini-shakti, or Krishna's internal ecstasy potency, is Radhika, who is drawing the innermost rasa, the ecstasy of the highest order, extracting it from within and distributing it outside.

Meeting of the Gods and Sages

My Sweet Lord is Angry

Love and delight

The bhagavata (10th canto) dwells in a rapture of tenderness upon the God-babe, and upon the wanton play of the lovely child who is delightful in his naughtiness and marvellous in his occasional displays of superhuman power; it figures him as an ideal of boyish beauty, decked with jewels and crested with peacock's feathers, wandering through the flowering forests of Vraja, dancing and playing on his flute melodies that fill the souls of all that hear them with an irresistible passion of love and delight; it revels in tales of how the precocious boy made wanton sport with the herdswomen of Vraja, and how the magic of his fluting drew them to the dance in which they were united to him in a rapture of love.

Its Not all that sweet

A cross-cultural analysis published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found a strong correlation between refined sugar consumption and mental illness. Researchers found that a high national intake of refined sugar predicted a higher incidence of schizophrenia and depression. Research published in Neuroscience in 2002 found a high fat, high sugar diet reduces a key growth hormone in the brain necessary for memory and learning. Research into the correlation between diet and mental illness is finally expanding. This new research is shedding much needed light on the reality that diet does play a role in the incidence of mental illness.

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The most provocative finding in the cross-cultural analysis was the consistent connection between refined sugar intake and worse outcomes for schizophrenia and increased prevalence of depression. Researchers also found that consumption of pulses or whole grains and high consumption of starchy root vegetables were linked to a lower prevalence of schizophrenia and depression. The connection between dietary habits and mental illness was not seen with healthy carbohydrate consumption but strongly correlated with refined sugar consumption. Sugar consumption causes a cascade of physiological effects that may explain the increased prevalence of mental illness.

Refined sugar consumption suppresses brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF, an important growth hormone in the brain. This growth hormone is extremely important for the health of neurons in the brain. BDNF triggers new connections between neurons in the brain which is crucial for memory function. Studies have shown low BDNF levels in patients with depression and schizophrenia. The consumption of refined sugar has the potential to exacerbate depression and schizophrenia by contributing to low BDNF levels.

Refined sugar is notorious for causing increased inflammation in the body. Regular consumption of refined sugar can lead to chronic inflammation which can disrupt immune system functioning. Chronic inflammation is implicated in arthritis, some forms of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease among many other illnesses. Chronic inflammation has also been linked to a higher risk of depression and schizophrenia. Psychologists who have become aware of the recent research on sugar and mental illness have begun recommending sugar free diets to patients.

Dr. IIardi, associate professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, stated that he has encouraged depressed patients to remove refined sugar and refined foods from their diets. Patients who were willing to comply to these recommendations reported significant improvements in mental clarity, mood and energy. Research and patient experiences indicate that a diet high in whole grains and low in refined foods and sugar can provide significant improvement in mental health, clarity and reduced risk of mental illness.

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Learn more:http://www.NaturalNews.com/032689_sugar_mental_illness....

Bonified person can teach

In his lecture from London, August 10, 1971, Srila Prabhupada mentions the following (paraphrased) points, among others:

The question raised by the sages at Naimisaranya was, "After departure of Krsna, unto whom the charge of religious principle depended?"

Suta Gosvami is a disciple of Sukadeva Gosvami. It is the etiquette, before speaking anything, the disciple should first of all offer respect to the spiritual master.

Offering respect to the spiritual master means to remember some of his activities. namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine (Prabhupada Pranama Mantra). He is preaching the message of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and he's a disciple of Sarasvati Thakura. You should pronounce it sarasvate, not sarasvati.

Lord Caitanya's message is that you go and speak everyone about Krsna and Krsna's message. This is called parampara system.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as disciple of Isvara Puri, is preaching Krsna consciousness. Similarly, in the disciplic succession of Lord Caitanya, the Gosvamis -- Sri Rupa, Sanatana, Bhatta Raghunatha, Sri Jiva, Gopala-bhatta, Dasa Raghunatha. Vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau. (Sri Sri Sad-goswamy-astaka)

We begin from our first disciplic succession. Vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam. (Mangalacarana)"I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my guru, spiritual master." And then, his guru, his guru, his guru, they're all Vaisnavas.

Then we offer respect to Sri Rupa Gosvami. Rupa Gosvami. Vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau. (Sri Sri Sad-goswamy-astaka) All six Gosvamins.

Sagraja. Agraja means elder brother. Sanatana Gosvami was the elder brother of Rupa Gosvami, and Rupa Gosvami accepted him as his spiritual master.

Sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam. (Mangalacarana)Associated by Raghunatha. There are two Raghunathas: Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami. Sa-jivam, with Jiva Gosvami.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu's status: sadvaitam savadhutam. (Mangalacarana) First of all, Advaita Gosani, then Nityananda Mahaprabhu, Prabhu.

Mahaprabhu is applicable only to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Others, all prabhus. Ekale isvara krsna ara saba bhrtya. (Cc. Adi 5.142)Krsna, and He has got innumerable servants.

The spiritual master who has got many prabhus to abide by his order, he is addressed as Prabhupada.

sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krsna-caitanya-devam. (Mangalacarana) After offering all these obeisances to Gosvamis, to guru, and Advaita, Nityananda, then you come to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Then Sri Radha. Not Krsna directly. Sri-radha-krsna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca. (Mangalacarana) Radha-Krsna means they are always associated by the gopis, of whom Lalita-Visakha are the chief out of the asta-sakhis.

This is the parampara system. mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. (Cc. Madhya 17.186)We have to accept the path of the authorities. Here is authority, Suta Gosvami. He is offering his respect to his spiritual master, Sukadeva Gosvami.

You can[not] say simply "I offer my respectful obeisances to my spiritual master." No. You must describe his activities. What is the activity of spiritual master? samsara-davanala-lidha-loka. (Samsara Prayers) Otherwise, everyone will become spiritual master.

The quality, the activity will support the bona fide spiritual master. Guna-karma-vibhagasah. (Bg 4.13)Action is that he is to deliver his disciple from the blazing fire of this material existence.

This material world is always blazing, always a problem. Nobody can deny it. Nobody goes to set fire. But by accident, by manipulation, fire takes place. In this material world, everyone is trying to be peaceful, happy, tranquil. No. There must be fire. Therefore this material existence is called samsara-davanala-lidha-loka. (Samsara Prayers)

This fire can be extinguished only if there is cloud upon it--if there is rain. You cannot send fire brigade. The fire of this material world can be extinguished through the exigency of spiritual master, because he has received the mercy cloud, from the ocean of mercy, Krsna, and he pours it over this samsara-davanala.

Andha yathandhair upaniyamanah. (SB 7.5.31)The so-called rascal leaders, they are making plan, lifelong. The United Nations making plan to stop war, fighting. They cannot do it. It is not possible. You have to take mercy from Krsna.

The demons, they don't care for Krsna. They think, "I am God. I shall do it." Na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah. (Bg 7.15) Because they are naradhama, lowest of the mankind. Asuram bhavam asritah. na mam duskrtino mudhah. (Bg 7.15)

Asuric bhava means denying the existence of God. There are two kinds of men: asura and devata. Those who are accepting the authority of the Supreme Lord are called devata. Those who are denying the existence of God... such demons are prevalent everywhere.

The demons write, on the note, "We Trust In God," but practically does nothing. That is also another edition of demons: under the garb of believing in God, doing all nonsense.

na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah. (Bg 7.15) Human life is meant for understanding what is God, what is my relationship with Him. God is great, I am very small. The rascal says, "No, I am God." God is not so cheap.

yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah. (BS 5.48) Simply by the breathing of Maha-Visnu, innumerable universes are coming and going. That is God. na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah. (Bg 7.15)

How to become devotee? adau gurvasrayam. (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu) One has to seek out a bona fide spiritual master. Just like Suta Gosvami has become disciple of a bona fide spiritual master, Sukadeva Gosvami.

Sukadeva Gosvami was liberated. He remained within the womb of his mother for sixteen years because he was conscious that, "As soon as I get out of the womb, I'll be immediately captured by maya. So let me become little strong."

Prahlada Maharaja learned all about God consciousness from within the womb, as Narada Muni was teaching Prahlada's mother.

It is the business of saintly person, whoever comes to him, he would give him instruction about spiritual knowledge.

Prahlad's mother, less intelligent woman, but Prahlada took all the instruction and became a perfect devotee.

Prahlad's friends inquired, "My dear Prahlada, you are the son of a king and you do not go outside your palace, and we are sent here in this school, teaching. Our teacher is the same. How you have learned all these nice things?" He said, "My dear friends, these nice things I learned from Narada, the same spiritual master. The instruction was actually meant for my mother, but being woman, she has forgotten."

striyah sudras tatha vaisyas te 'pi yanti param gatim. (Bg 9.32) By Krsna's mercy, even if she's woman. mam hi partha vyapasritya (Bg 9.32) -- "It doesn't matter whether he is woman or sudra or a vaisya. If he takes shelter of My lotus feet, according to the regulative principle, they also go back to home, back to Godhead." kim punar brahmanah punya bhakta rajarsayas tatha (Bg 9.33), what to speak of the persons who are born in brahmana family and those who are devotee.

If you want to get relief from this temporary world and the distresses within this world, then bhajasva mam: "Just become a devotee of Me."

Sukadeva Gosvami purposefully remained within the womb of his mother for sixteen years, and as soon as he got out, immediately he left home. Immediately. Anupeta.

According to Vedic system there is upanayana, upetam. Upa means near, and nayana means bringing. When the spiritual master brings the disciples nearer by giving him gayatri-mantra, that is called upanayana-samskara.

Sukadeva Gosvami did not take any such samskara. He learned from his father within the womb of his mother, and as he became perfectly in knowledge, liberated soul, immediately he got out of the womb of his mother and immediately started for the forest. Naked, he was going on.

His father became very much aggrieved: "Oh, my son is born and he's going immediately!" Son didn't care. Went away. putreti tan-mayataya taravo 'bhineduh. (Bhagavat Purana) Because the father was so aggrieved, the trees replied. There was vibration, echoes.

tam sarva-bhuta-hrdayam munim anato 'smi: (SB 1.2.2) "I am offering my respectful obeisances unto the great sage, Sukadeva Gosvami, whose activities is like that. Immediately coming out of the womb of his mother he left home without being, undergoing any samskara."

Samskara is required who is impure. We should not imitate, not that as soon as we get out of the womb of mother we can walk. No. It is special. It is special. Therefore everything is special.

Even without taking any initiation. He was initiated by his father, Vyasadeva.

Suta Gosvami is describing the wonderful activities of his spiritual master and offering obeisances. Tam munim anato 'smi: (SB 1.2.2) "That great sage, anato 'smi, I humbly bow down on his lotus feet."

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

Gravity of import

"In former days, having placed the four Vedas on one side and the Bharata on the other, these were weighed in the balance by the celestials assembled for that purpose. And as the latter weighed heavier than the four Vedas with their mysteries, from that period it hath been called in the world Mahabharata (the great Bharata). Being esteemed superior both in substance and gravity of import it is denominated Mahabharata on account of such substance and gravity of import. He that knoweth its meaning is saved from all his sins.

You and I

The soul is never born and he never dies, nor does he repeatedly come into being and undergo expansion, because he is unborn and eternal. He is inexhaustible ever-youthful yet ancient. Although the body is subject to birth and death, the soul in indestructible. Sri Krishna

Narasimhadev Ki Jai

Dancing the night away

Sri Sri Radha Krishna
dancing in the groves of Vrindavan.

Krishna's vision can only be attained through the medium of the ear as one hears Hari-katha from pure Vaishnavas, there is no other way.

Srila Saraswati Thakur

A Full Moon

On the 19th of March 2011 the moon was very close to the earth and full. Closer than it has been in twenty years. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared on a full moon a little over 500 years ago on this date. It was predicted in the scriptures that he would distribute the Holy Names of the lord to everyone regardless of caste, religion, race etc. In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy where in the majority of people have lost their way due to being misguided by crooked leadership, can easily approach the Supreme Lord by his name and be freed from all material contamination enabling one to perfect his human form of life.

So at the request of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his representatives we humbly ask whom ever may read this article to please chant these holy names.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna - Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama - Rama Rama Hare Hare

Invisible Piper

We all know Albert Einstein in his attempt to understand the creation studied the Gita upanisad (Bhagavad-Gita). He has quoted portions of the Gita on many occasions. When reading this I immediately thought of Sri Krishna. The picture he paints by his words is very clear.

Albert Einstein: "Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for insects as well as for the stars. Human beings,vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper."

Sri Krishna .... Bhagavad Gita 9.7-12

sarva-bhutani kaunteya
prakritim yanti mamikam
kalpa-ksaye punas tani
kalpadau visrjamy aham

"O son of Kunti, at the end of the millennium all material manifestations enter into My nature, and at the beginning of another millennium, by My potency, I create them again."

prakritim svam avastabhya
visrijami punah punah
bhuta-gramam imam krtsnam
avasam prakriter vasat

"The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My will it is automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is annihilated at the end."

na ca mam tani karmani
nibadhnanti dhananjaya
udasina-vad asinam
asaktam tesu karmasu

"O Dhananjaya, all this work cannot bind Me. I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral."

mayadhyaksena prakritih
suyate sa-caracaram
hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate

"This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again."

avajananti mam mudha
manusim tanum asritam
param bhavam ajananto
mama bhuta-maheshvaram

"Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be."

moghasa mogha-karmano
mogha-jnana vicetasah
rakshasim asurim caiva
prakritim mohinim sritah

"Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated."

Gnaw away the knot

Utilize Every Moment to Attain
True Well-beingby Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada

Sri Bhagavan has said: “A truly intelligent person should shun evil company but seek the association of holy saints who, with their instructions, gnaw away the knot of our mind’s worldly attachments” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.26.26). This means that for our true well-being we should always accept the guidance of the true guru and not be misled by pseudo gurus. The guru never accepts preya-pantha, the path to pleasure, for he is a follower of sreya-pantha, the path to true well-being. And he instructs his disciples and others to walk along this real path as his own true guru instructed him.

If a disciple asks the guru for permission to drink alcohol, the guru is sure to disapprove and never grant it. When the guru does not indulge the disciple in his prayer for the cravings of his mind, he might dismiss the guru. Such disciples accept only those gurus who are ready to supply fuel to their desire to indulge in sense enjoyment. These days, accepting a guru has become a fashion meant not for the disciple’s true well-being, but for getting one’s sensual pleasures approved of. Like selecting a barber or washer-man, such appointments only satisfy social or family customs.

As soon as Truth is ascertained, it should be ardently put into practice then and there. Since the span of our life is very short, we should not misspend even a moment of what still remains of it in attending to worldly affairs. Rather, we should utilize it to perform our service to Sri Hari. King Khatwanga attained his highest good by engaging in Lord Hari’s service for but one muhurta (forty-eight minutes) and Ajamila by serving Him just at the time of death. The following anecdote illustrates this point:

Sivananda Bhattacharya – by faith a Sakta, or worshipper of goddess Kali, or Durga – sent his son Rama-krsna to purchase some sacrificial animals like goats and buffalos and other necessary articles for the upcoming festival of Durga-puja. When Rama-krsna was returning home after purchasing them, he met Srila Narottama Thakura, a holy saint of the highest order. After Srila Narottama Thakura talked with the youth instructively, the youth’s mind was changed altogether. He let the animals go in order to obtain initiation from the Thakura, and went home empty-handed.

Sivananda was waiting expectantly for his son to return with the goats, buffalos and other articles for Devi-worship. Seeing that he returned without them, he anxiously asked about them. Sri Rama-krsna replied that he had been blessed to have gotten the grace of the illustrious Vaisnava, Srila Narottama. Upon hearing this, his father flared up with excessive wrath and called him a disgrace to the family for accepting a guru who had not taken birth in a brahmana family.

Rama-krsna was fortunate enough that upon hearing the Truth from the mouth of the Thakura Mahasaya he was roused from the worldly mire and at once gave up the duties of this world as deplorable and insignificant in order to engage in the service of Hari.

Since we cannot rely on even the duration of a breath, for it may be our last, we should utilise even this moment for attaining our true well-being. For this end, we should not listen to anyone of this world who might give us contrary advice. In the Srimad Bhagavatam (5.5.18) Sri Rsabhadeva teaches us that “We are encompassed by death, and whoever does not deliver us from it cannot be obeyed as our well-wisher, even if he is a guru (like Sukracarya to Bali), a near relative (like Ravana to Vibhishana), a father (like Hiranyakasipu to Prahlada), a mother (like Kaikeyi to Bharata), a demigod (like Indra to Nanda), or a husband (like the yajnika-brahmanas whose wives were devoted to Sri Krsna). Such was the case with Sri Rama-krsna Bhattacharya, who wisely courted his father’s certain displeasure to secure his true well-being.

5000 yrs ago in Dwaraka City

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Just a few notes from Srimad Bhagwatam: During the time Krishna was living with his queens in Dwaraka City, he had 16,108 wife's and had children with all of them. They were referred to as the Yadu dynasty. The Yadu Dynasty consisted of 101 clans. The education of the Yadu's required 38,800,00 Acharyas. All the residents even while eating, living, working, cooking, training, etc. were always absorbed in loving thoughts of Sri Krishna.

The population was very large. Sukadev Goswami heard from reliable sources that after Krishna killed Kamsa the son of Urgasena, Ugrasena was then installed as King and was surrounded by 10 quadrillion soldiers who acted as his body guards.

Krishna's Palace "Dwaraka City Discovered"

Sita sings the blues

The Ten Symptoms of the Non-Envious

The Ten Symptoms of the Non-Envious

- by
Sacinandana Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

1- He who is fre from envy, by his very nature, never criticizes sadhus (saints)

2- He does not consider Demigods to be independent lords, for his intelligence is absorbed only by Sri Krishna, yet he does not disregard them.

3-He has faith (sraddha) in Sri Guru and all other superior devotees as befits each of them.

4-He offers respect to the bhakti scriptures like Sruti.

5-Abandoning meaningless arguments, he apprehends how the Holy Name is the topmost, meaningful attainment (paramartha), a perception rooted in perfect conviction that the Holy Name (nama) and its owner (nami) are one and the same.

6-He never engages in wickedness while depending on the protection of the Holy Name.

7-He does not conseder the auspiciosness of ordinary piety - such a societal dharma, religios vows (vrata) or renunciation - to be comparable in any way to chanting the Holy Names.

8-He tries to inculcate faith in the faithless, but never grants them the Holy Name until that faith has awakened.

9-He believes completely in the glories of the Holy Name as described in the scriptures.

10-And he is devoid of any sense of "I" and "mine" in relation to mundanity.

Oh readers!, Non-enviousness alone is liberation for the living being, and envy his only bondage. In Sri Caitanya Caritamrta it has therefore been said:

caitanya-carita suna sraddha-bhakti kari
matsarya chadiya mukhe bala hari hari

Sri Caitanya -Caritamrta (Madhya - Lila 9.361)


Endowed with full faith and devotion, listen to the lifework of Sri Caitanya... Cast aside envy and let your mouth sing, Hari, Hari!