Probadana Swaraswati Thakur one of our ancient rasa Acharyas described a essential quality of Radharani in Radha Rasa Shudanidi or his other book Nectar Moon of Lord Caitanya. She is a multitasked personality with only two essential tasks that is of any interest to her. She has one eye on Krishna and one eye on seeing to the welfare of others less fortunate than her- this means as far as devotion is concerned, everyone else. Krishna liked her mood so much he took it the extreme limit and brought into manifestation his eternal form as Lord Caitanya and demonstrated practically this same mood and both satisfied Himself by tasting the limit of spiritual love for Himself and all the living entities by distributing these valuable remnants to feed the poor unfortunates in this world.

Radharani keeps her focus in life in this way spontaneously and as a practical teaching for us we must act in this way with a little force in the beginning to purify our selves or actually allow Krishna to purify us by keeping our focus on his Bhakti potency which is always at hand via the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of Krishna etc. The formula of a bonafide spiritual master is in essence this. He disciplines the disciple to do these two things in order to purify them and when the disciple is ripe he spontaneously relishes his relationship increasingly with Krishna with one eye or focus and with the other out of compassion acts for the welfare of others by teaching the immense and very confidentially secret value of developing loving devotion to God (Radha and Krishna). 

Our sadhna practice designed by the spiritual master are in essence various means of engaging our attention on remembering Krishna and avoiding the pitfalls of certain activities that facilitate our forgetting Krishna-most of us disciples are not yet qualified to do this with unswerving deviation due to lack of spiritual taste so he puts us to work doing practical service in the field as his person assistants compassionately acting for the welfare of others even though we ourselves usually don’t have any compassion for others manifesting yet in our heart due to our undeveloped of Love for God. 

Practically we disciples of a confidential servitor of Krishna, the bonafide spiritual master, must see if we are in line with this formula. Neglecting either part we will be out of balance. For example many disciples now days in this kali yuga are affected by the mode of passion. If this passionate energy is not engaged in doing practical service for Gurus mission of delivering the conditioned souls then it will create more karmic bondage and lead to more passionate fruitive activities which naturally deviates and incapacitates us from making progress towards the treasure of remembering Krishna with loving devotion. On the other hand if we just work all day long for the Guru without engaging the various sadhna practices which assist us in remembering Krishna our work will take on a mundane quality. Following in the footsteps of residents of Vrndavan means to do what they do spontaneously with some discipline at first. They work for their lively hood and the welfare of others and at the same time remember Krishna in various ways. Radharani teaches her parrot to recite Krishna’s glories. Mother Yasoda composes beautiful simple songs about her beloved Krishna. Since most of us don’t have the developed love of God we cannot compose such devotional scriptures spontaneously therefore we must hear, sing and recite the mahamantra and compositions of other authorized bhaktas who had love for the Supreme Lord and purify our selves by eating their remnants in this way. In this way Bhakti Yoga can be a very strait forward and simple process to both understand and to practice but without connection and service to a bonafide spiritual master we cannot follow this path of special mercy and grace.

The dice game & the theft of the flute

While wandering through the forest of the Hemanta [autumn] season, where the moonlit nights become longer and the sunlit days shorter, Sri Radha shivered from the cold. Sri Krishna said, “0 Radhika, quickly enter into the abode of My heart, where You will be sheltered from the cold by the warmth of My eagerness for You.”

When Sri Krishna pulled Radha close to Him, She protested, saying, “Na! Na!” In the loving struggle which ensued, His sash loosened and His flute fell to the ground, as if angry. Beautiful Lalita saw the crown opulence of Vraja’s prince lying neglected on the ground and said, “0 hard, cold flute, whose only quality is the beauty of your song, full of faults (holes) and a great disturbance to the three worlds, you will now get your just dues!” Unbeknown to Sri Krishna, who was intoxicated with the mystifying presence of Sri Radha, Lalita hid the fortunate flute in the dark shelter of her thick braid.

Happily wandering through the Hemanta forest with Radhika, Sri Krishna observed the many winter flowers, vines, birds, and animals. To shelter Them from the cold, Vrinda-devi, the keeper of the forest, joyfully presented Them with small winter coats of crimson, tawny, blue, and golden colors.

Reaching peaceful Radha-kunda, Sri Radha, desiring to vindicate the abuse suffered by Her friends at the band of the flute, challenged, Govindaji to a game of dice. Unable to resist the challenge, Sri Hari sat down on a crystal dais facing Radhika and Latita-devi, while Madhumangala acted as His advisor in the game.

Sri Radha was the goddess of victory, Jaya-Sri. Even with guidance of the infallible Madhumangala, what hope was there for Sri Krishna to throw the high score? When He first lost His Kaustubha gem, Hari found consolation in seeing it hanging around Sri Radha’s neck. At the next throw, His pearl necklace was lost, but He considered the loss insignificant. However, when He staked His flute against Sri Radha’s vina and lost it, He felt in His sash and saw that His prized possession was gone.

When Sri Krishna asked Madhumanga1a for His flute, he replied with pride, “Where am I an ascetic of the forest, and where are You roaming around without purpose? Where am I religion personified, and where are You attached to all kinds of frivolous conduct? Your Kaustubha gem is already lost, and now You have also lost the enchanting weapon of Your flute! Left to Your fate, You can now blissfully sing the ri ri song wherever You go!”

Extremely disturbed by the turn of events, Sri Krishna abandoned the game of dice to locate His friend, the flute. Suspecting one or more of the gopis as the thieves, He tried to discover the felon by sweet words, threats, and close inspection. It was all to no avail.

Taunting Him with a smile on her reddish lips, Lalita devi said, “Ho, Ho! Oh, once holder of the flute! You are now up to Your neck in the sticky swamp of embarrassment. Now that Your friend, the flute, has left You, how will You attract the gopis into the forest at night? How will You now pass Your abundant leisure hours, 0 son of Vraja’s king?”

Casting a glance of disregard to Lalita, all the while smiling at Sri Radha, Madhava [Krishna] turned to Madhumangala and said, “0 omniscient king of brahmanas, having studied astrology, please look in your charts to see who took my Murali [flute].” Performing achamana, sitting in trance, and meditating on the current constellations, Madhumangala said, “0 friend, my infallible conclusion is that hot-tempered Lalita took it.”

Without His noticing it, Sri Radha came behind Lalita and took the flute from her hand and hid it in Her own braid. Then, as Sri Krishna was about to search an angry Lalita, a forest nymph and servant of Vrinda-devi appeared and said, “Jatila is arriving at Surya-kunda!”

When many pots of water are thrown on a fire, it naturally goes out. Similarly, when the name “Jatila” entered the ears of the gopis, their happiness in Sri Krishna’s association vanished. Abandoning heir blissful sports, Sri Krishna and His girlfriends, their eyes fearful, hastened to see Jatila, Radharani’s mean mother-in-law.

The many wonderful lies Sri Radha spoke to Jatila, explaining Her delay in worshipping the sun-god greatly satisfied Surya-deva, who was overjoyed at the darshana [audience] of his worshipable Deities, Radha-Krishna. While Radhika pledged Her innocence, Sri Krishna, in the guise of a pure brahmana, sober, renounced, and learned, looked on, a charming smile on His lips.

The many mantras chanted by Sri Krishna, the king of brahmanas, contained such equivocal meaning that the sun became perplexed and, fixed in the sky, pondered their deep significance to no avail. At the conclusion of the ceremony, wearing a white robe, holding the

scriptures and durva grass in His hands, Sri Krishna instructed Radha, “0 most chaste girl, just say bhavaste namah [I offer my obeisances], perform parikrama [circumambulation] of Your priest, and then offer Your obeisances with Your forehead touching the ground.”

As Sri Radhika offered Her respects to the brahmana Sri Krishna, His flute fell from Her hair, making a hollow sound. The intricate network of lie’s that She concocted at that moment was sufficient to bewilder even Brhaspati, the guru of the demigods. Finally, Sri Radhika placated Jatila by explaining, “Arye! Today this flute fell from the slope of Govardhana Hill, and because it is known to give the gopis of Vraja much distress, I planned to throw it in the Yamuna. Surely there can be no harm in that?”

Promising to take it out of Vrindavana and dispose of it in a faraway place, Sri Krishna, still disguised as a brahmana, regained His flute from the hand of Jatila. Giving her assurance that Radha was a goddess of fortune and the emblem of chastity, Govinda bade farewell to the ladies of Vraja. While stroking His dear flute, Sri Krishna consoled it with many sweet words and then replaced it in His sash. While returning home, He held the hand of His dear friend Madhumangala and continued to look behind Him until the gopis completely passed out of sight.

Question:  Origin and Purpose of Hare Krishna

 

RadheyKrsna!

 

What are the origins of Hare Krishna?

“The Supreme Lord Himself is the origin of the Hare Krishna process. The Hare Krishna process of connecting with the Supreme Person through pure, loving devotion is known as Krishna consciousness and has no beginning point in history. It has existed as long as God has existed. It is taught in the Vedas, the world’s original and oldest scriptures and is also presented in an elementary form in the Bible and the Koran. All the modern day religions are simply derivatives of the original Krishna consciousness system of unalloyed devotion to the Supreme Person.

What is the purpose of Hare Krishna?

“The purpose of the Hare Krishna movement is to enable those who practice it to become perfect in love of God. Plus the movement wants to awaken the entire to this most amazing original system of spiritual purification, so that everyone can be saved from all varieties of suffering conditions.

Can you think of anyone specifically who played a vital role in bringing Hare Krishna to the United States, if so how did they do that?

“That person is my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He came to America in 1965 from India on the order of his spiritual master, and by 1966 he had attracted a small band of disciples in Manhattan’s lower east side. He then dispatched them to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world and quickly the Hare Krishna Movement became world famous.

What impact do you think Hare Krishna has had on the United States?

“The answer is that it has had a tremendous impact. Millions of people have heard the Hare Krishna mantra and heard of the Hare Krishna movement. Future historians will note that the introduction of the Hare Krishna in the United States was one of the major turning points in world history.

What successes and failures have you noticed in the U.S.’s interpretation of Hare Krishna?

”The Hare Krishna people in the USA and throughout the world do not interpret the Hare Krishna process. We are following it in its original pure form that was taught by Lord Krishna in the 5,000 years old scripture known as the Bhagavad-gita. Those who strictly follow it become all successful in their lives. The only failures we have seen are in cases of those who tried to invent their own so-called version of Krishna consciousness without strictly follow the instructions given in the Bhagavad-gita.

Are there any certain locations of great importance to Hare Krishna, any in the U.S.?

“We have hundreds of locations all over the world that are of great i important including many throughout the USA.

Has there ever been any controversy surrounding Hare Krishna? 

Christ and Krishna, or Christna

 

We have been a constant controversy because in a greedy, selfish world pure God-consciousness will always be controversial. This is why they crucified Jesus.

How would you compare Hare Krishna to western religion, such as Protestant Christianity?

“Hare Krishna is not another religious sect. The Krishna consciousness process is the essence of religion, religion in its original, pure form before it was divided into sects. A purely Krishna conscious person is the best Christian, the best Jew, the best Muslim, and the best Hindu.

Besides spiritual matters, how is Hare Krishna involved in its local community?

“The practice of Krishna consciousness has a more powerful benefit on our local communities than anything else. When we water the root a tree all the leaves and branches are nourished. When we feed our belly the entire body becomes fed. Similarly when we channel our loving devotion to Lord Sri Krishna we give best loving service to our communities and the entire world. When we become properly situated spiritually everything material becomes automatically properly adjusted.

Any other interesting facts about Hare Krishna you would like to share?

“Any other interesting facts about Hare Krishna you would like to share? ”The answer is that there is nothing more amazing and interesting than Krishna consciousness. It brings one into direct communion with God Himself, the source of all existence, twenty-four hours a day.

VEDIC THOUGHT

“I do not pray for heavenly pleasure. I do not even aspire for liberation. Simply let the nectar of Lord Krsna’s transcendental pastimes flood my ears, day after day.”

“Therefore the essence of all religious principles in the age of kali is the sacrifice of chanting of holy names of the lord one can not be delivered by following any other religious principles.”

If a devotee follows the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he lives in the company of the Lord. Wherever he lives, he converts that place into Vrndavana and Navadvipa. This means that materialism cannot touch him. This is the secret of success for one advancing in Krsna consciousness.

The Vedas are My eternal transcendental sound incarnation. Therefore the Vedas are s’abda-brahma. In this world, the brâhmanas thoroughly study all the Vedas, and because they assimilate the Vedic conclusions, they are also to be considered the Vedas personified. The brâhmanas are situated in the supreme transcendental mode of nature–sattva-guna. Because of this, they are fixed in mind control [s'ama], sense control [dama], and truthfulness [satya]. They describe the Vedas in their original sense, and out of mercy [anugraha] they preach the purpose of the Vedas to all conditioned souls. They practice penance [tapasya] and tolerance [titikshâ], and they realize the position of the living entity and the Supreme Lord [anubhava]. These are the eight qualifications of the brâhmanas. Therefore among all living entities, no one is superior to the brâhmanas.

VEDIC THOUGHTS – BHAGAVAD GITA

One may cleanse himself daily by taking a bath in water, but if one takes a bath even once in the sacred Ganges water of Bhagavad-gita, for him the dirt of material life is altogether vanquished.
(Gita-mahatmya 3)

O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to me, everything rests upon me, as pearl are stung on a thread.
(Lord Sri Krsna- Bhagavad Gita 7.7)

And whoever, at the end of his life quits his body remembering me alone at once attains my nature. Of this there is no doubt.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad Gita 8.5)

I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from me comes remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad gita 15.15)

To those who are constantly devoted to serving me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to me.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad Gita 10.10)

I am the only enjoyer and the object of sacrifice. Those who do not recognize my true transcendental nature, falls down.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad Gita 9.24)

O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
(Lord Sri krishna – Bhagavad-gita 2.14)

Just fix your mind upon me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in me. Thus you will live in me always, without a doubt.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad gita 12.8)

I am the only enjoyer and the only object of sacrifice. Those who do not recognize my true transcendental nature fall down.
(Lord Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 9.24)

One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 4.9)

For one who sees me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to me.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 6.30)

There is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad gita 7.7)

For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 2.20)

As a lamp in a windless place does not waver, so the transcendentalist, whose mind is controlled, remains always steady in his meditation on the transcendent self.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 6.19)

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita)

With a single fragment of Myself, I pervade and support this entire universe.

(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad gita 10.42)

Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 12.2)

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 7.19)

Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad gita 12.2)

Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is the knower of everything. He therefore engages himself in full devotional service to Me, O son of Bharata.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 15.19)

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.
(Lord Sri Krsna – Bhagavad-gita 2.69)

One who takes shelter of the supreme lord has nothing to fear, even in the midst of the greatest calamity.
(His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – Bhagavad Gita 1.19 purport)

Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation.
(His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada – Bhagavad-gita As It Is 3.3, Purport)

Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realization.
(His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.1, purport)

The sage feels transcendental pleasure in the gradual advancement of spiritual culture, whereas the man in materialistic activities, being asleep to self-realization, dreams of varieties of sense pleasure, feeling sometimes happy and sometimes distressed in his sleeping condition. The introspective man is always indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on with his self-realization activities undisturbed by material reactions.
(His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.69, Purport)

Logic and arguments are insufficient to understand the Absolute Truth