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Love in Separation

Speaker: Indradyumna Swami
Where: St. Petersburg, Russia, May 13, 2016

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Loving Affairs

Speaker: Indradyumna Swami
Where: Vrindavana, India, Oct 21, 2013

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The Call of the Lord

Speaker: Indradyumna Swami
Where: Vrindavana, India, November 7, 2012

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Vrindavan

September 19, 2018, 6:48 am

Sunny
24°C

real feel: 26°C

current pressure: 1000 mb

humidity: 80%

wind speed: 1 m/s WSW

wind gusts: 2 m/s

UV-Index: 1

sunrise: 5:36 am

sunset: 5:50 pm

Forecast September 19, 2018

day

Sunny

36°C

wind speed: 2 m/s NW

wind gusts: 4 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

night

Clear

22°C

wind speed: 1 m/s SE

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

Forecast September 20, 2018

day

Sunny

36°C

wind speed: 2 m/s N

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

night

Mostly clear

23°C

wind speed: 1 m/s ENE

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

Forecast September 21, 2018

day

Mostly cloudy with thundershowers

34°C

wind speed: 2 m/s ESE

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

night

Showers

25°C

wind speed: 1 m/s E

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

Forecast September 22, 2018

day

Thunderstorms

27°C

wind speed: 3 m/s ENE

wind gusts: 4 m/s

max. UV-Index: 2

night

Thunderstorms

23°C

wind speed: 2 m/s NE

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 2

Forecast September 23, 2018

day

Thunderstorms

28°C

wind speed: 3 m/s ENE

wind gusts: 4 m/s

max. UV-Index: 2

night

Mostly cloudy

23°C

wind speed: 2 m/s ENE

wind gusts: 4 m/s

max. UV-Index: 2

Forecast September 24, 2018

day

Partly sunny with thundershowers

31°C

wind speed: 2 m/s E

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

night

Clear

24°C

wind speed: 1 m/s E

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

Forecast September 25, 2018

day

Sunny

35°C

wind speed: 1 m/s W

wind gusts: 5 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

night

Clear

22°C

wind speed: 1 m/s W

wind gusts: 4 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

Forecast September 26, 2018

day

Sunny

36°C

wind speed: 2 m/s WNW

wind gusts: 6 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

night

Clear

22°C

wind speed: 1 m/s WNW

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 8

Forecast September 27, 2018

day

Sunny

35°C

wind speed: 1 m/s W

wind gusts: 4 m/s

max. UV-Index: 7

night

Clear

21°C

wind speed: 1 m/s WNW

wind gusts: 3 m/s

max. UV-Index: 7

“O spiritual master… / О духовный учитель…”
“O spiritual master, I continually offer my obeisances unto you, who are always in the presence of Srimati Radharani and very much devoted to Her. You always reside in the association of Her confidantes, the gopis, and you are the abode of loving devotion to Krishna” “О духовный учитель, непрестанно предлагаю вам поклоны: вы всегда […]
From Hari-bhakti-vilāsa / Из “Хари-бхакти-виласы”
“Искра обжигает, даже если соприкоснешься с ней случайно. Также и святое имя Господа Хари сжигает все грехи, лишь коснувшись чьих-то уст”. [ Каши-кханда; цитируется в “Хари-бхакти-виласе” 11.324 ] “Even if touched by mistake, a spark still burns. In the same way, when the holy name of Lord Hari touches one’s lips it burns all sins.” […]
From Brhat-Bhagavatamrta / Из “Брихат-Бхагаватамриты”
“Мне не по сердцу, если преданные, безразличные к иным духовным практикам и реализациям и желающие лишь личного служения Шримати Радхике, постоянно воспевающие Ее славу и поглощенные любовью к Ней, достигают той же самой Вайкунтхи, что и многие другие преданные. Это так печально! Как же смириться с тем, что это место назначения и для таких преданных, […]
For All Book Distributors – Past, Present and Future / Для всех распространителей книг нашего времени, прошлого и будущего
Adapted from Srila Narahari Chakravarti Thakur’s Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara After studying for a prolonged period in Vrindavan under the guidance of Srila Jiva Goswami and in the association of many exalted associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Srinivas Acarya along with his dear friends Shyamananda Prabhu and Narottam Das Thakur have been ordered to leave Vraja […]
Радхика, даруя праздник служения Себе
“Даруя праздник вечного служения Себе, Шри Радхика – прекрасная царевна беседок Вриндавана – делает все духовные цели и практики незначительными. Совершая это, Она наводняет мир вестями о Своей нектарной красоте, и лик Ее сияет, будто неисчислимые осенние луны”. [ Шрила Прабодхананда Сарасвати, “Шри Радха-раса-шудханидхи”, стих 62 ] “Sri Radhika, the lovely queen of […]
A Prayer / Молитва
1. O Lokanatha Gosvami! O my master! I beg for the shelter of your lotus feet. If you are satisfied with me then please place your merciful glance upon me. 2. If you are pleased with me then all the wishes of my mind will be attained and my thirst for happiness will be satiated. […]

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6 days ago

Indradyumna

Up And Running

The second show of our USA tour was another success. Over 1,000 people from all over Dallas, Texas attended. Many of them were coming into contact with Krsna Consciousness for the first time. We had many nice comments and a good number of books were sold. Next stop is Little Rock, Arkansas.

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7 days ago

Indradyumna

Here We Go

If the rest of our 6 week festival tour here in America is anything like our first show in Houston today, we’re in for a mighty fine time!

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7 days ago

Indradyumna

Vyasa Puja Offering to Giriraja Swami 2018 - “A Good Soul”

My dear godbrother and friend, Giriraja Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am not usually without words but glorifying you is challenging because there is so much to say and so little time to say it! I could talk for hours about your extraordinary qualities as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, as well as reminiscing about our 30-year friendship which is one of the deepest and most satisfying in my life.

Friendship is an essential ingredient in Krsna consciousness. In Hayagriva dasa’s book, Vrindavan Days, he recounts how Srila Prabhupada stressed the importance of friendship in one of his Vrindavan discourses at the Radha Damodar temple in the early 1970s:

“In the second stage, that of madhyam-adhikari, one treats all types of men according to their position and tries to increase his love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he also make friends with the devotees. He doesn’t envy the devotees. If a devotee is superior, we should take lessons from him; if he is equal, we should make friends with him; and if lower, we should try to help him.”

Maharaja, you have been so kind and treated me as an equal all these years, but let the truth be known: you are my superior, for you are many light-years ahead of me in devotional service. This truth becomes evident each time I hear you speak. Your speaking perfectly exemplifies the Lord’s declaration in Bhagavad-Gita:

anudvega-karam vakyam
satyam priya-hitam ca yat
svadhya-yabhya-sanam caiva
van-mayam tapa ucyate

“Austerity of speech consists in speaking truthfully and beneficially and in avoiding speech that offends. One should also recite the Vedas regularly.”

[ Bhagavad Gita 17.15 ]

In his purport to that verse Srila Prabhupada writes that “at the same time, such talk should be very pleasurable to the ear.”

Your lectures are a pleasurable to the ear for many reasons, but in particular they are so because you sprinkle your narrative with your memories of Srila Prabhupada. You will often use first-hand accounts of Srila Prabhupada to back up a philosophical point, or you use them simply to give joy to your audience. Many times you have surprised devotees by sharing a pastime or statement from Srila Prabhupada that you have never used before. You are like a treasure chest of Prabhupada nectar. This is because he is very dear to you and you are very dear to him.

In numerous letters throughout the years Srila Prabhupada extolled your virtues as a disciple and devotee of the Lord:

“So I marked it in your person when I was in Boston, and prayed to Krishna that this good soul may be aware of the importance of Krishna Consciousness "

[ Letter to Giriraja dasa, July 5, 1969 ]

“I am glad that Giriraja is doing very nicely. Krishna has sent a good soul for pushing on this Krishna Consciousness Movement.”

[ Letter to Satsvarupa dasa, 17 July 1969 ]

“You are also very fortunate to have an assistant like Giriraja. This boy has so quickly taken up the Krishna Consciousness cause and I am very much pleased with his behavior.”

[ Letter to Satsvarupa dasa, 15 October 1969 ]

“In his last letter Giriraja has informed me that he was sick but since then I have not heard from him. How is he? I am anxious to know. His health should be taken good care of. He is an important worker and a good soul.”

[ Letter to Tamal Krishna dasa, 20 August 1971 ]

Four times our own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, has defined you as “a good soul”. This is but one of the reasons that I always hanker to be near you and try to obtain your association whenever possible.

In Harinam Cintamani, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur writes:

"If one stays near a pure Vaishnava, a devotee of Krishna, for some time one can receive the bhakti, devotional energy, flowing from his body. If one can bind that energy within one’s heart, he will develop strong faith in bhakti. If one lives close to a genuine Vaisnava, devotion will soon appear within one’s heart."

I make it a point to try and visit you in Carpinteria, California once a year. My excuse is that I am coming to rest, but have you ever seen me rest when I am with you? No! Resting is just a ruse; I come to bask in your wonderful association.

So yes, we are friends, but I think a better terminology is that we are brothers, and you are the older brother. You are older in age, older in time spent in ISKCON, and older in your realizations and wisdom in Krsna consciousness. As such I take great pleasure in honoring you on this auspicious day. In fact, so much do I appreciate what you have done for me, that I honor you in the same mood as your disciples: as a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Someone may challenge: where does it say that a godbrother can worship another godbrother as representative of the Lord, as good as the Lord Himself? Well, it says so in the king of all sastras, the Srimad Bhagavatm:

däsavat sanna-täryäìghriù / pitåvad déna-vatsalaù bhrätåvat sadåçe snigdho / guruñv éçvara-bhävanaù 

“[Prahlada Maharaja] was completely cultured as a qualified brahmana, having very good character and being determined to understand the Absolute Truth. He had full control of his senses and mind. Like the Supersoul, he was kind to every living entity and was the best friend of everyone. To respectable persons he acted exactly like a menial servant, to the poor he was like a father, to his equals he was attached like a sympathetic brother, and he considered his teachers, spiritual masters and older Godbrothers to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He was completely free from unnatural pride that might have arisen from his good education, riches, beauty, aristocracy and so on.” 

[Srimad Bhagavatam 7.4. 31-32]

My dear older godbrother, Giriraj Maharaja, I am confident that by studying your devotion and service to Srila Prabhupada I can learn how to satisfy him. Your proximity to Srila Prabhupada in the early days of the movement gives credence to why so many devotees, like myself, have faith in you. You know how Srila Prabhupada did things, you know what pleased him, you know what his mission was and you know how he went about it. You received specific instructions from him. On his deathbed he turned to you and asked how things would go on in this movement once he departed. You replied, “Things will go on if we are obedient to your instructions to chant 16 rounds and follow the regulative principles.” No doubt that was a perfect answer. But just as perfect was Srila Prabhupada’s response: “Things will go on with organization and intelligence.” With your keen intelligence you understood this order of Prabhupada’s, and with your remarkable memory you are able to recount many such things Srila Prabhupada told you over 48 years ago! Because your attachment to His Divine Grace is so strong I feel you will be with him forever.

yatha vaise tatha yena hana anucara

“I will follow my master to any place that he goes".

[Srila Vrindavan das Thakur, Caitanya-bhagavat, Madhya 13.399]

In this vein, please allow me to follow you anywhere you may go, for that guarantees me eternal service to our dear and beloved spiritual master.

I often reflect on how your initial meetings with His Divine Grace were very much like his own first meetings with his Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. When they first met, Srila Prabhupada tested the field by making a challenging statement. He told Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati that India must first be rid of British rule before people could seriously take up Krsna consciousness. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati shot back that awakening our Krsna consciousness is a much more urgent matter, as it is the very goal of life. In your memoir entitled “Seeing the Center of Things”, you explain how when you first met Srila Prabhupada you suggested that we may all be God. But Srila Prabhupada convinced you otherwise. You admitted to him, “Actually, I see that I wanted to become God.”

“Yes, that is right!” Srila Prabhupada responded. “But how can you become God? You cannot. God is in your heart and if you water the seed of devotion by chanting Hare Krishna, He will give you all the sunshine to make it grow.”

You carefully watered that devotional seed by always dealing with your spiritual master in an appropriate mood of awe and reverence. You have noted that in the beginning of your devotional career each time Srila Prabhupada lectured you would limit yourself to a single carefully thought out question.

One time you asked: “What is the relationship between service to man and service to God?”

Srila Prabhupada replied, “If a hungry man comes to you and you feed him, in a few hours his hunger will return and he will have the same problem all over again. But if you give him Krishna consciousness, all his problems will be solved permanently. If you give a man a million dollars, all of his ten dollar problems will be solved. Similarly, if you give a man Krishna consciousness, all of his little problems will be solved, including eating. And his problems will be solved permanently. He’ll become completely satisfied .”

Srila Prabhupada’s reference to a million dollars solving a person’s ten-dollar problems is interesting. You seem to have realized this early in your devotional career, for when your father offered you a check for one million dollars to leave Krsna consciousness, you smiled and refused the check. You had already realized that your spiritual father, Srila Prabhupada, was giving you the most priceless commodity: pure devotion to the Supreme Lord.

For your initial enthusiasm and faith in him, Srila Prabhupada rewarded you accordingly. He gave you a number of personal instructions. Although there are general instructions for the mass of devotees and the public at large, a disciple always hankers for some personal instructions or guidance from his guru. And so it was that one night during one of Srila Prabhupada’s early visits to Boston you got to drive him back to the temple after a program. During that drive you asked him something that had been on your mind mind for some time.

“Srila Prabhupada,” you said, “what should I do with the rest of my life?”

He paused for a moment and then replied, “Just study our books very thoroughly and chant Hare Krishna.”

Those were very simple instructions, but nothing is simplistic in Krsna consciousness. For a sincere devotee everything is very deep and meaningful. So you took those personal instructions sincerely and therefore you find yourself at a very advanced stage of Krsna consciousness today. You will of course deny your advancement, but you are outnumbered, for there are thousands of disciples, friends and well-wishers who think otherwise. Just see how many have come to honor you today! There’s a saying that “numbers never lie.” That can be contested in many situations, but not in this one. In your case, the truth is evident in the number of devotees who look up to you, respect you and love you.

I can honestly say I love you Giriraja Swami Maharaja. The love we share is a love of a time-tested friendship that goes deep and is infinitely more satisfying than any mundane friendship. It is a relationship that continues to grow based on the comradery of serving together in the pioneer days of our spiritual master’s mission. It is said that “two things equal to one thing are equal to each other.” Because of our deepening love for our spiritual master and Krsna, our love for each other is solidified forever. My hope is that we’ll meet each other when we’re back home in the spiritual world. Certainly, the possibility is there, for in a letter to Tusta Krsna das Srila Prabhupada wrote:

“Siddhasvarupa will go, you will go, Syamasundara will go, all others will go. We will have another ISKCON there. Of course, Mr. Nair must stay.”

[Srila Prabhupada Letter to Tusta Krsna, Ahmedabad December 14th, 1972 ]

I am very confident I will reach that supreme abode, my dear friend! Of course it’s not proper for a Vaisnava to make such a statement of bravado, full of arrogance and conceit. But I do not say this on any merit or qualification I have, but based on a wonderful vow that you, I and our godbrother Sriniketana das took many years ago in Mauritius. We were honoring an amazing feast offered to Srila Prabhupada on his appearance day. The prasadam was delicious and, being the young men we were, we were devouring it in great delight. By the time we finished the sweets we were totally intoxicated with both the sugar and the transcendental nature of the delicacies.

Suddenly I said to you and Sriniketana, “Prabhus! Let’s put our hands together and take a solemn vow!”

“Wonderful!” you said. “What type of vow shall we take?”

I smiled and said, “Let’s take a vow that none of us of will go back home, back to Godhead without the others.”

I was overjoyed when you immediately agreed, not fully understanding that I alone was the real beneficiary of such a vow. How was that so? Because I knew that you would be going home well before I would. That meant I would achieve that goal way before my time. With a smile from ear to ear I put out my hand. You placed yours on top of mine and Sriniketana put his on yours. Then we very loudly proclaimed the sacred vow together:

“On this auspicious day, celebrating the appearance of our beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, here on ISKCON’S Vedic Farm in Mauritius, in the presence of the Lord and so many exalted devotees we hereby take the solemn vow that none of us will go back home, back to Godhead without the others. We shall all attain that supreme, divine abode of love and bliss together. We shall enter Goloka the three of us abreast to serve the Divine Couple forever and forever more!”

With our eyes closed, we held our hands tightly together for some time and when we opened them we found a great number of devotees staring at us in astonishment.

Looking back on that special day I too am astonished. I am astonished at my great fortune to have had you as a friend and mentor in this lifetime. What a wonderful life I have lived in the association of godbrothers and godsisters such as yourself. I will leave this world grateful and fully satisfied. What’s more, I am looking forward to serving Srila Prabhupada together with you again here in the material world and most eagerly in the spiritual world. There is no doubt we will recognize each other there and our friendship will continue forever.

Upendra das once asked, “Srila Prabhupada … it was raised that our relationships formed here in ISKCON with one another are eternal in themselves in addition to the service, that ISKCON and we members as we are known now shall be known there [in the spiritual world]. All this I was unable to support scripturally and lest I make an offense and direct error, I place this before you.”

Srila Prabhupada replied, “As to your question concerning whether relationships between devotees are eternal, the answer is ‘yes.’ This is confirmed by Sri Narottama dasa Thakura: cakhu-dan dilo yei, janme janme prabhu sei—‘He is my lord birth after birth.’ In this way you have to understand, by studying carefully the philosophy.”

[ Letter to Upendra, January 7, 1976 ]

The conclusion, my dear Giriraj Swami Maharaja, is that I will forever and forevermore be your friend and servant!

Yours eternally,
Indradyumna Swami

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1 week ago

Indradyumna

Outreach

Yesterday evening myself and some members of my festival team did a program for newcomers to Krsna consciousness. It was very blissful! Programs don’t always have to be big and gorgeous to be successful. A little Krsna-katha and sweet chanting of the holy names can satisfy any sincere spiritual seeker’s heart.

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1 week ago

‘Remembrance of HG Brahmānanda Prabhu’ - Lecture By HH Indradyumna Swami, at Samādhi of Brahmānanda Prabhu, Vṛndāvana, 2015

Quotations/Lessons/Instructions from Above Talk:

• There is a common saying in society that, “You can judge the greatness of a person by how many people—or more important, who— attends their funeral or memorial service.” So as I look around here at this august assembly of Vaiṣṇavas and Vaiṣṇavīs, it’s very apparent what a wonderful and great devotee Brahmānanda Prabhu was and he has certainly earned this epitaph which is on his Samādhi: “Indisputably the favorite son of His Divine Grace Śrīla—A.C. Bhakti-Vedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.”
• For me, I see him as my Vartma-Pradarśaka -Guru. I sometimes remember him as you know, strong as a thunderbolt and soft like a rose. For myself, he was always very soft like a rose, but this one occasion, he just pulled me into Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. He said, “No, you are going to eat.” And I broke a fast—a 20 day fast—with a huge feast.” And I survived. [laughter].
• A couple of years ago, I came here to the temple and I came in just before the Bhāgavatam class had started, and Brahmānanda Prabhu was giving the class and as I walked in he said, “Oh, Indradyumna Swami has come.” And he stood up and he sat down on the floor, and he said, “You give the class.” I was so embarrassed, because here is the person who had made me a devotee, who convinced me to give up material life, to take shelter of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and although he was a well-known personality and deserves so much respect, he showed genuine humility by stepping down and asking me to give the class. He was instructing us in so many ways.
• Another wonderful attribute that I remember about Brahmānanda Prabhu is his deep love and deep affection for Śrīla Prabhupāda. Whenever Brahmānanda Prabhu would give a class about his memories of Śrīla Prabhupāda; inevitably, sometime during the speaking he would cry. Tears would come to his eyes. This of course you know is the perfection of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, when we can feel some deeper emotion and actually tears can come to the eyes, expressing our love for Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇava.
• As Brahmānanda Prabhu would cry whenever he would speak about Śrīla Prabhupāda and it was never sentiment, it was based on deep realization of who Śrīla Prabhupāda was; it was based on the purification he had achieved as the result of serving Prabhupāda. They were genuine tears of spiritual love for Śrīla Prabhupāda. In the same way, love is always reciprocal. It’s never a one-way street, it’s always reciprocal.
• Along with the instruction of the spiritual master comes the ability to fulfill it, so because he was such a surrendered soul to Śrīla Prabhupāda he was successful against all odds in Africa. Prabhupāda understood this and as Prabhupāda’s secretary was reading Brahmānanda Prabhu’s report about his preaching, the secretary told me Prabhupāda started crying; tears. At the end of the reading, he said, “Brahmānanda has done so much for me. He has sacrificed his very life for me.” Prabhupāda was crying. So this is love, and the love is demonstrated, the genuine symptoms are there. As Brahmānanda cried out of love for Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla Prabhupāda would cry out of love for his disciple. This gives us a glimpse of how deep is the relationship.
• I am convinced that Brahmānanda Prabhu is with Śrīla Prabhupāda; it can only be because that’s where his heart always was, so that is very joyful. We miss his association. We miss him, but we hope that we can become as qualified as he was; as wonderful a servant of our spiritual master as he was; have as much love for his spiritual master as he did; and be as capable of rendering incredible service.

For the complete story: Read the lecture transcription from below link:
indradyumnaswamiparikrama.com/2015/11/10/samadhi-hg-brahmananda-prabhu/ ...

Samādhi of Brahmānanda Prabhu – HH Śrīla Indradyumna Swami – Memories

indradyumnaswamiparikrama.com

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