Overcoming Harshness & The Srngi Within | May 2021

Some tracks to help inspire devotion to Krishna

Spiritual Spoken Word

Krishna's sweetness - Dina Bhandu Das

Choices - Sri Prahlad

Caring - Krishna Nandini Mataji

Avani Prabhu 9.6.20

Avani Prabhu 23.7.20 On Hariyali Teej

Krishna told Arjuna “by constant practice and detachment it is possible.” Arjuna said ‘the mind is more difficult to control them the raging wind.’ Can you control the wind? Tell me can you control the wind? The mind is more difficult to controlling the wind. So, can you control your mind? But it is said ‘out of fear of Krishna the wind blows and out of fear of Krishna the wind stops blowing.’ For Krishna, to control the wind is that any difficulty? Similarly, for Krishna to control your mind is it any difficulty? So, we have to by constant practice and detachment, keep our mind fixed on Krishna. Constant practice and detachment means that Krishna sees that we are genuinely, honestly and sincerely trying. This is the essence. You cannot control your mind ever. you are a Jeevatma and your mind is being empowered by the all-devouring force of Maya. You cannot control your mind. But you know the story of the sparrow?

How To Control The Mind?

So, now Nimai is standing before him, soaking wet from the bath in the Ganga with the shaved head and Kesava Bharati says, “You are the Supreme Lord and if this is how you want to teach the world to make me your guru, I am your servant.” And then he gave the two pieces of saffron cloth to our beloved Lord Gauranga. The Lord put on the saffron dress of a sanyasi. When the people saw him without his beautiful golden robes, without his jewellery and his garlands, without his luxurious cascading hair, their hearts were broken. But still, in the saffron robes of a sanyasi, he was so unlimitedly beautiful. He charmed their hearts. They fell unconditionally in love with this form of Mahaprabhu as a sanyasi. Then, the Lord did something that was wonderful.

Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Accepting Sannyas

So, if we are bored, if we are not finding ecstasy and excitement and adventure at every moment, that means we are not Krishna Conscious. That means we are still material conscious, it means we are forgetful of Krishna, it means we still have to go through all these artificial devices just to forget the boredom, the frustration of the bodily concept of life.  It is a fact. So, while we are in this state, a devotee wants to purify his senses by always engaging them in the loving service of the Lord, by worshiping the deity, by having wonderful wonderful sankirtan with so many loving devotees, by hearing the glories of the Lord in the Srimad Bhagvatam, by engaging in the service of the Lord, whether it be cooking for the deities or cleaning the children’s toilets, a devotee simply feels such bliss and such love just by keeping his senses always with Krishna in His service. Nothing is ordinary.

Nothing Is Routine For A Devotee

you have to struggle, you have to work, you have to push, you have to surrender, you have to do it with good intelligence. But the way you are pushing, the way you are surrendering will have longevity, you will be able to continue this way with enthusiasm. And as far as accepting guidance, if you are sincere, you will seek out guidance. If you are insincere, you will say, “Oh my guru is not here, who will I turn to?” But the fact is there are so many wonderful vaishanvas who understand the philosophy and who can help you. And if you are sincere, you will turn to them and you will accept guidance. If you are sincere, when you are reading the books or hearing the tapes of the great acaryas or the great devotees of the lord, you will receive so much guidance through them, practically all your questions will be answered.  What to speak of all the devotees who are present, who have so much experience?

If We Are Insincere, We Can Justify Anything

'Flower Festival Special Class' with HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty on 30th Jan 2021

Radhanath Swami is a Vaishnava sanyassi (a monk in a Krishna-bhakti lineage) and teacher of the devotional path of Bhakti-yoga. He is author of The Journey Home, a memoir of his search for spiritual truth. His teachings draw from the sacred texts of India such as The Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Ramayana, and aim to reveal the practical application of the sacred traditions, while focusing on the shared essence which unites apparently disparate religious or spiritual paths.
Born Richard Slavin, on December 7, 1950, in his teens he came to confront a deep sense of alienation from suburban Chicago life and the civil injustices of mid-century America. At the age of nineteen, while on a summer trip to Europe, his internal struggles culminated in a commitment to search for God wherever it might lead him. Meditating on the Isle of Crete, he felt a supernatural calling and the next morning set off alone to find spiritual India. The Journey Home documents his odyssey as a penniless hitch-hiker though Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally India. There he lived as a wandering ascetic, first amongst the forest dwelling Himalayan yogis and later amongst a wide variety of gurus and spiritual practitioners throughout India and Nepal. Ultimately, he was led to the holy town of Vrindavan, where he found his path amongst the Bhakti-yogis.
In Vrindavan he found the teacher he was searching for in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and representative of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, (the Krishna-bhakti tradition stemming from the 16th century mystic avatar Sri Chaitanya). In choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami, as his guru, Radhanath Swami felt compelled to shear his matted locks and reenter Western society with a mission to share the sacred wisdom he had received. This return exemplifies the form of devotional yoga which is at the heart of Radhanath Swami’s teachings, a spiritual practice expressed as tangible action meant to bring about personal fulfillment and benefit the world.
At the the age of 31 he took the monastic vows of a Vaishnava sanyassin and became known as Radhanath Swami.
Today Radhanath Swami travels regularly throughout India, Europe and North America, sharing the teachings of Bhakti-yoga. He resides much of the year at the Radha Gopinath Ashram in Chowpatty, Mumbai. For the past twenty-five years he has guided the community’s development and has directed a number of acclaimed social action projects including Midday Meals, which daily serves more than 260,000 plates of sanctified vegetarian food to the children of the slums of Mumbai. He has also worked to establish missionary hospitals and eye camps, eco-friendly farms, schools and ashrams, an orphanage, and a number of emergency relief programs throughout India.
