Some tracks to help inspire devotion to Krishna

Spiritual Spoken Word

Insurmountable Power - Charu Das

Adirasa Prabhu At Kirtan Rasa 2.12.19

Living Name

Introduction

Gurudeva Krpa Karke

Harmonium and voice: Krsna Krpa Dasa
Mrdanga: Ramananda Das
Kartalas: Abhay Caran Das
and London devotees singing

A kirtan from a collection of songs under the guidance of Srila Bhaktivedanta Vana Maharaja in London - December of 2019

Gurudeva Krpa Karke - Krsna Krpa Dasa - 06.12.2019 - Hall Program - London

Dhenukasura could not tolerate that they were enjoying what was meant for him. So, he came charging, screaming like an ass. He was big! He was big like mountain. And he approached Balaram and with the strength of an ass in his behind legs, he turned around and with all of his might he started kicking Balaram in the chest. And Balaram just stood there, calmly just tolerating these massive blows. And then Balaram  just was thinking, “What is this? This demon must come to an end because he is trying to enjoy the fruits of His abode. Talavan was His abode.” He considered this is mine and whatever fruits are here are mine to enjoy. This sounds familiar? This is my house and whatever is in this house is mine to enjoy. This is what we called Dhenukasura consciousness. In another words, if anyone who thinks like this, is an ass, no offense or anything. Not that any of you think like this. But it is true. What does an ass think? An ass works hard all day, foaming at the mouth, big burden on him, for what? For little sense enjoyment and he thinks that what I work for, the fruits of my action are mine to enjoy. This is animal consciousness. 
But Balaram who is represented by the spiritual master comes and kills that ass like quality in our hearts and don’t think it’s always so nice, at least to our minds. The spiritual master learns to teach us that all the fruits of our actions, all the fruits of this world are meant for Krishna’s satisfaction. And through his words and through his instructions, in so many ways, he is trying to kill this Dhenukasura ass who is living within the hearts of all of us. That what is the Dhenukasura ass? The tendency to want to be the controller, to think that this is mine to enjoy. So, Balaramji took Dhenukasura by the behind legs and started whirling him around, threw him in the trees and he was dead.  And in the same way the spiritual master, sometimes he just throws us around and we get all dizzy trying to follow his instruction but ultimately what is the purpose? To kill the ass in our heart? And in that pure heart, like the cowherd boys we simply offer all the fruits to Krishna. We enjoy with Krishna. Everything is Krishna’s.

Only Lord Balaram or The Spiritual Master Can Destroy The Demon Of Dhenukasura Within Our Heart

Festivals

Sri Radhastami - London 1969-09-18

Deity Installation--Why Krishna Comes to This World-London 1973-08-21

Simple Living &High Thinking Harmonious Relations In Times of Stress and Crisis - HH Radhanath Swami

That’s why Srila Prabhupad writes pure devotional service is very rare. He quotes Rupa Goswami ‘manushyanam sashastreshu kachid yatati sidhyaye’ very rare. But then Prabhupad quotes Sanatan Goswami and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that ‘if one is sincere and serious, he puts a list of three things and obviously, Krishna easily gives pure devotional service if you have these three qualities. That means these three qualities must be extremely, supremely important for us. Pure devotional service, which is so rare, Krishna easily gives it, if we have these three qualities. If we are sincere and second is, if we are serious. What’s the difference between being sincere and serious? They sound similar, don’t they? It seems like being sincere means, you are serious and being sincere means, you are serious. It’s very important and then the next one, basically explains what it means to be sincere and serious is ‘to have no ulterior motives.’ If we are sincere, serious and no ulterior motives, then Krishna will easily give pure devotional service. He will reveal everything as it is. But to actually fall and enter into the spirit of the Parmpara, this is what is required.

Protecting The Words Of Guru & Shastra

Then little Parasara spoke. He said “Sir, A person who has knowledge, real knowledge sees the presence of God in everyone's heart. Such a person is like a tree with good fruit. If a tree has a lot of good fruit, the tree bows down. If free has a tree has no fruits, it doesn't bow down to anyone. If you don't have respect for others, if you are not humble before the greatness of God, then I considered all of your knowledge to be as worthless as this handful of sand” and through the sand down. Coming from a tiny five-year-old child, it pierced his heart to the core. He came down off of his palanquin and bowed to the feet of this small child and with tears of humility in his eyes, he prayed “I want to be your disciple” and he became a disciple.

Humility Is Real Power

What We Are All Looking For?

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.
