Emergency Meeting RE: NYC Temple Sale (May 15th)

Radha-Govinda are the presiding Deities of ISKCON Brooklyn

The pending sale of ISKCON’s Radha Govinda Mandir (“Bharati Center”) has been a matter of interest, concern and even controversy among temple board members, congregational members, devotees and interested persons in the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere, especially in light of the GBC Body’s stated opposition to this sale transaction.

[PADA: OK the ISKCON GBC has transferred huge amounts of assets, manpower and properties over to totally independent charities like "The Bharati Center" which are not actually part of the official ISKCON movement. Why should Romapada care about what ISKCON says, when he is not even part of ISKCON? And didn't the GBC approve of making all these independent charities, really making a bunch of shell game charities, as a means of avoiding paying the Windle Turley lawsuit? 

They never even answered the first question, why did they allow all sorts of child abuse, which lead to the lawsuit, which lead to the property spin off charities and so on and so forth? And Romapada has a history of doing foolish projects (remember the Haitian disco, the Bingo hall, and his loan shark program?) so why was he made the GBC's "living" messiah of Brooklyn in the first place?]

In order to foster openness, inclusivity and greater awareness of the current state of affairs as well as to dispel confusion and misconceptions, last year’s GBC Executive Committee (now called the “GBC Brooklyn Temple Sale Committee”) will host an ISKCON Informational Town Hall Meeting on Mon., May 15,2017 at 7:00 PM sharp. The evening’s panel will consist of the following GBC members, assisted by legal counsel:

• Bhakti Caru Swami (2017 GBC Chairman / GBC Brooklyn Temple Sale Committee, Member)
• Sesa Das (GBC Brooklyn Temple Sale Committee, Chairman / 2016 GBC Chairman)
• Praghosa Das (GBC Brooklyn Temple Sale Committee, Member / 2015 GBC Chairman)

Interested persons in the New York metropolitan area are cordially invited to attend. Interested persons from outside the New York metropolitan area may be seated as space permits.

Where:
Central Library I Brooklyn Public Library
Dr. Steven Dweck Auditorium 10 Grand Army Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11238

When:
Mon., May 15, 2017 from 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM (Auditorium doors close at 7:15 PM sharp.)

Contact Us: GBCBrooklynCommittee@gmail.com

JUST SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE’LL ADDRESS:

• Why is the ISKCON Informational Town Hall Meeting not being held at the Radha Govinda Mandir?

• Why did the GBC Executive Committee formally notify the NYS Attorney General of its opposition to the sale of the temple?

• Is there any NYS case law precedent regarding a seller of religious real property “changing its mind” after a sales contract has been signed?

• What is the goal of the GBC Brooklyn Temple Sale Committee, and what is the scope of its authority?

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Do you have a question that you would prefer not to ask in a public setting?
Whatever your point of view, members of the GBC Brooklyn Committee will be available all day long on Tue. May 16, to hear your concerns in person at a convenient location in Brooklyn.

You may schedule a confidential appointment with us by calling (732) 447-3123 or by e-mailing GBCBrooklynCommitlee@gmail.com

PARKING: On-street. Also valet parking garages at 1 Eastern Parkway ($19) and 906 Union St ($14).

NEARBY SUBWAY STOPS: Trains 2, 3 at Grand Army Plaza. Trains B, Q at Seventh Avenue

[PADA: This is the result of making independent maverick acharyas like Romapada, they do not care for the authority of the GBC, because they are "acharyas." Hrdayananda also tells the GBC to fly a kite. Their whole system does not work and will not work, until they agree that these "leaders" are just that, temporary managers (subject to the control of the GBC) and they are not self-realized independent acharyas (not subject to the laws of the GBC). 

The Governing Body Commission (GBC) gurus do not have to listen to the GBC, duh, because a guru is not under the control of a GBC! They will never fix this problem as long as they designate conditioned souls as their acharyas. The GBC are the ones empowering, enabling, and facilitating all these false renegade acharyas! 

Anyway, give them a call and let them know that their system stinks! ys pd]

Hanuman -- sleeping on the couch?

[Dear PADA: Hanuman das is married to a disciple of Bhakti Vikas swami, why he defends his wife's guru. He says people can go to a bona fide ISKCON gurus like Bhakti Vikas swami, because he has to say that to keep wife happy. Compromised. If he opposes his wife, he will be sleeping on the couch. He is another GBC compromising and we all know how the GBC gurus controls their people, they have to agree or they end up sleeping on the couch, the wife kicks them out. He might fool some people, but he is not fooling all of us. I read your blogs all the time, very funny, at times very sad. The poison tape is really horrible, but they were plotting all this along before Prabhupada departed, they wanted his seat and Bhakti Vikas swami is one of their people. They want the seat of guru and Hanuman is with that program so he does not end up asleep on the couch by himself. Eternal servant, DD Dasi.]  

[PADA: Yep, I noticed Hanuman's writings on the BVKS site, and BVKS writings on his site, they are working together. ys pd]

Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Double Standards?

BY: MADHAVA DAS

I was following the interactions between Sanaka Rsi and Bhakti Vikasa Swami on the difficult yet important documentary on child abuse in ISKCON, named "Cost Of Silence" with great interest.

I especially have regard for Maharaj and the way he dealt with contentious issues in the past, namely Radhanath Swami and his newfangled preaching strategies and Dhanurdara Swami`s critique of the book Women: Masters or Mothers.

In the above mentioned instances, Bhakti Vikasa Swami questioned the validity of the other side, their opinions and actions due to lack of any shastric pramana for establishing their points. Rightfully so. Hence I was really surprised and disappointed that Bhakti Vikasa Swami did not follow his own standards when addressing Sanaka Rsi`s letter and documentary, namely backing up his own statements with any shastric pramana.

Bhakti Vikasa Swami in his lecture was defending questionable behavior/actions of two individuals, namely Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami and that of Indradyumna Swami, both of whom are in the renounced order of life, without establishing any Vedic pramana. Bhakti Vikasa Swami, please clarify your defense of:

1) Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami rubbing the semi-naked body of a young girl with paste; and

2) Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami spending time alone in the room for a whole night together with Sri Radhe mataji.

These instances (and others) were provided in the CPO investigation report on Sri Radhe mataji that lead to her removal and eventual closing down of Vidyapurna Swami's girls school in Mayapur.

These reports can be found here.

It is important to note that these instances are not from 35 years back, as per claims of Bhakti Vikasa Swami, but are rather quite recent ones.

3) Indradyumna Swami`s inappropriate relationship with young girls.

Here we are providing documented evidence: Indradyumna Swami's Girls.

These pictures appeared on Indradyumna`s Swami's personal Facebook page and his Travelingmonk website. After concerned devotees publicized these photos, Indradyumna Swami hastily removed them from his web accounts, yet as a sannyasi he is still practicing the above "methods of preaching" today.

Consequently, I would like to ask Bhakti Vikasa Swami to please provide the Vedic pramana for his defense of the above behaviors of somebody who is in the renounced order of life. And please do explain to us how these types of actions are bona fide parts of following sannyasa-dharma.

I think that it is only fair, since those are the requests from you to your critics and those that you question.

Please Maharaja, practice what you preach, otherwise you will be just another ISKCON leader who follows the idiom of DO AS I SAY AND NOT AS I DO. Full of double standards and someone who should not be taken seriously.

Narasimgha Chaturdasi Sunnyvale

Sri Narasimha Jayanti

We are celebrating the appearance day of Lord Narasimha on May 09, 2017. Narasimhadeva is the protector of the devotees. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord appears in every millennium to protect the devotees, annihilate the miscreants and to establish religious principles. On His appearance day devotees fast till dusk.

There is a common misconception that one should not worship Lord Narasimhadeva at home. Some people say that if you worship Lord Narasimha at home, He would rip you apart. However this is not true. People who say that identify themselves with Hiranyakashipu rather than with Prahlada.

Prahlada was a great devotee and Hiranyakashipu was the greatest demon who was envious of Lord Vishnu. Narasimhadeva appeared to protect His devotee and annihilate the demon. See the picture of Lord Narasimha. Hiranyakashipu is being ripped apart and behold… Prahlada Maharaja is standing next to Him with a garland. The demigods and even Lakshmidevi were afraid of approaching Narasimhadeva to pacify Him; but Prahlada Maharaja went and offered prayers to pacify Him.
Narasimhadeva protects us from all evil influences and He removes all the obstacles in our spiritual path. In the Brahma Samhita it is stated that Ganesha always holds the lotus feet of Lord Narasimha and thus he obtains his power to destroy all the obstacles on the path of progress in the three worlds. Narasimha is everywhere and He also resides in our heart.

Devotees always worship the Supreme Lord Narasimhadeva who is also known as bhakta-vatsala. It is important that we

worship Him on His appearance day.

For more details visit:

www.iskconbangalore.org/festivals or

www.iskconbangalore.org/sri-narasimha-jayanti

How to celebrate Narasimha Jayanti Festival?

Wake up early in the morning. In the scriptures it is recommended that one should wake up early in the morning. Brahma-muhurtha (approximately 1 ½ hours before sunrise) is the most auspicious time for spiritual activities.

Cleanse yourself. Clean yourself externally by brushing your teeth, taking a bath etc. For internal cleanliness one has to think of Krishna always and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. It is said that the Narasimha Kavacha Stotra is the king of  all mantras. One who reads this becomes free from all sins. It removes all evil influences in the family and drives away ghostly disturbances. Whatever one desires in this world can be definitely attained if one chants this mantra regularly as per the procedure with a pure heart. All the diseases (especially those of the abdomen) will vanish and he will achieve victory in all his endeavors.

The Narasimha Kavacha Stotra is given as an annexure to this e-book. To hear the mantra, download the Narasimha Kavacha Stotra Video from our website.

hare kṛṣṇa, hare kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa, hare hare
hare rāma, hare rāma, rāma rāma, hare hare

Before observing any vow, cleanse yourself externally and internally by taking a bath and chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra at least 108 times. This is very important.

Narasimha Ashtottara Archana. Purchase different varieties of fragrant flowers for performing archana. Chant the Narasimha Ashtottara mantra (refer annexure) & offer flowers at the lotus feet of Lord.

Prepare for the worship. If you have an altar, clean it, remove the old flowers and decorate the altar with fresh flowers. If you do not have the Deity or Picture of Lord Narasimha on the altar, then set up a table and purify it by sprinkling water or wiping with a cloth soaked in water. Keep the picture / Deity of Lord Narasimha on that table. Offer flower garlands and decorate the place of worship with flowers.

Offering Bhoga. Prepare a variety of delicacies as per your ability and offer them to the Lord. Distribute the Prasadam. The devotees observing the vow shall fast till dusk & then partake the Prasadam.

Offer Obeisances. Chant Narasimha Pranama mantra and offer obeisances to Lord Narasimha.
Narasimha Arati: Chant the following mantra (or you can also sing) and perform an arati.

śrī-nṛsiṁha, jaya nṛsiṁha, jaya jaya nṛsiṁha
prahlādeśa jaya padmā-mukha-padma-bhṛṅga
tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛṅgaṁ

namas te nara-siṁhāya prahlādāhlāda-dāyine

dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛṅgam

hiraṇyakaśipor vakṣaḥ-śilā-ṭaṅka-nakhālaye

keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
jaya jagadīśa hare jaya jagadīśa hare

ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁh
yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ

Prayer to forgive offenses: With folded hands request the Supreme Lord to accept your worship and forgive any offenses committed knowingly or unknowingly in the process of worship.

bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁho
nṛsiṁham ādiṁ śaraṇaṁ prapadye

Pray for the Protection of Lord Narasimha by chanting Narasimha Kavacha Stotra. This is the prayer
from Brahmanda Purana, formerly spoken by Prahlada Maharaja. It is said that one who chants this mantra is bestowed with all opulences and can be elevated to the heavenly planets. One should first meditate on the transcendental form of Lord Narasimha (as described in verses 3 to 6 of Narasimha Kavacha Stotra) and pray to Him for our protection.

www.iskconbangalore.org/sri-narasimha-jayanti

Visit www.iskconbangalore.org/live-darshan/for live darshan.

Bhoga-offering Procedure: Arrange all the bhoga-offerings in front of the Deities. On each item place a tulasi leaf. Chant each of the following mantras 3 times as you ring a bell with your left hand.

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracārine
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya namo namaḥ

Leave the bhoga in front of the Lord for 10 to 15 minutes. Come out of the altar room. After 15 minutes, clap your hands gently and enter the altar room. Ring the bell and remove the plate.

Ārati Procedure Items required: Bell, ārati lamp, incense sticks, ghee wicks, matchbox, conch to offer arghya, conch stand, a handkerchief, small plate to keep flowers, fragrant flowers, ācamana cup, cāmara and vyajana (peacock feather fan), a big plate to keep all the paraphernalia. Offer the ārati in the following sequence: dhūpa (incense sticks): 4 rounds to the Lord's lotus feet, 3 rounds to Lord's navel and 7 rounds to Lord's body; dīpa (ghee lamp): 4 rounds to Lord's lotus feet, 3 rounds to Lord's navel, 2 rounds to Lord's face & 7 rounds to Lord's body; arghya (water in a conch shell) - 7 rounds above Lord's head. After offering, pour the water into a separate pot; vastra (handkerchief) - same as the lamp; puṣpa (fragrant flowers) - 4 rounds to Lord's lotus feet. And then keep the flowers at the Lord's lotus feet; cāmara (fan made of yak-tail hair) - Wave it for a suitable number of times; vyajana (peacock-feather fan) - Wave it for a suitable number of times.

Offer obeisances and beg forgiveness from the Lord for the offenses committed unknowingly while rendering services.

Sunnyvale temple live stream (video)

Kill Guru, Become Guru (Poison issue review: Nityananda Das Video)

Cadmium poisoning is a KGB tool: "In 1995, a Russian banker, Ivan K. Kivelidi, died after coming in contact with cadmium, which is deadly to the touch. His secretary died of the same symptoms, apparently because the poison had been spread on an office telephone handset. In 2008, Karinna Moskalenko, a Russian lawyer specializing in taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights, fell ill in Strasbourg, France, from mercury found in her car."

=================

"Independence from, or disobeying the order of Sri Guru is the cause of so many difficulties. But it is not always easy to detect during the physical presence of Sri Guru."

Srila Bhakti Sri Rupa Siddhanti Maharaja (a senior disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada) explains this concept very clearly:

"Only at the time of Sri Gurudeva's disappearance can one recognise the actual identity of his disciples. One can then understand who has approached Sri Guru with what intention.

Even after taking shelter of a sad-guru's lotus feet, some disciples secretly strive to occupy the seat of Sri Gurudeva at the time of his disappearance. Their acceptance of the shelter of Sri Guru's feet was merely deceit. They are, in fact, hostile and inimical to guru.

Moreover, some disciples try to misappropriate the opulence and paraphernalia intended for the service of Sri Guru-Gauranga. This is not understood while Sri Gurudeva is still present, but after he has disappeared from this world, it assumes a terrible form. Know these disciples to be hypocrites, enjoyers and offenders.

Even at the time of Sri Gurudeva's manifest presence, some try to control their godbrothers instead of regarding them as worshipable. Thus they become severe offenders of the Vaishnavas.

Those who have been appointed to the position of temple-manager, but who do not serve in mutual cooperation with others and are reluctant to give due respect to their godbrothers, are sense enjoyers, that is, enjoyers of the matha. Instead of serving Bhagavan they are greedy to enjoy His property. They are a disgrace to the title "disciple".

Many, who are disciples in name only, even try to destroy the institution when Sri Gurudeva disappears because the honour they receive decreases at that time. These people are most inimical to guru and most certainly condemned to hell. Those disciples who deviate and engage in numerous acts of malice against Sri Guru when he disappears were undoubtedly hidden deceivers at the time of his manifest presence."

Appearance of Mother Sita (Ram leela)

Srimati Sita Devi (consort of Lord Sri Rama) - Appearance.

Today marks the auspicious appearance day of a very great female personality, namely Sita Devi, the consort of Lord Ram. Sita Devi, one of the most prominent personalities in the great epic Ramayan, is an epitome of pure love and devotion and an exemplary chaste wife. Her character and her pastimes set a great example and high standards for all women in today’s world, whether in the role of a daughter, wife, mother or in fact in any role at all. It also shows the strength pure hearted women can have, and is a good warning to everyone to never disrespect a respectable woman.

The appearance of Devi Sita on this planet was truly extraordinary and was an indicator of her divinity. Once, when there was a drought in the kingdom of Mithila, the janak at that time, maharaj Seeradhwaja, with the instructions of the Brahmanas, performed a Yajna to invoke the blessings of the Lord so that his kingdom may be freed from the disturbances created by the draught. After the Yajna was performed the Brahmanas instructed Maharaj Janak to plough the earth himself so that the sacrifice would bear the desried result. When Janak, who was a very saintly and learned king, was thus ploughing the land, the tip of the plough got stuck to something in the ground, which when dug, revealed a beautiful golden box. 

In that box, lay an exquisitely beautiful and divine baby girl. The king, who was childless till then, was extremely happy at heart to receive this girl and excepted her as his daughter, who was then named by the assembled saints as Sita, due her having appeared during the ploughing of the earth, as the tip of a plough is called Sita in Sanskrit. After this incident the king was blessed with a daughter, who was named Urmila and the two sisters grew up under the loving care of their parents. When Devi Sita was a small girl, she attracted everyone’s heart with her noble and beautiful qualities, and she was very devoted to the worship of the Lord.

The ancestors of Maharaj Janak were blessed with the bow that Lord Shiva used to kill the demon tripurasur, and therefore it was kept in the palace and worshiped by everyone. There are two versions of a pastime of Devi Sita with this bow. Some devotees say, that once when the Sita was playing ball with her friends, the ball rolled under the table on which the celestial bow was place. With a desire to retrieve the ball to continue with the play, Devi Sita with great ease lifted the bow, which was otherwise very difficult to lift even for the most powerful fighters on the earth. 

Another version of the story suggests that Sita would worship the bow and in order to clean the surface on which the bow was placed she lifted it up. In either case, when Maharaj Janak heard of this incident, he was truly amazed, and at that time he took a vow to marry his daughter to the person who was qualified and strong enough to lift the bow of Lord Shiva and string it. After that, in due course of time, Lord Ram came there with Rishi Vishwamitra and he won the hand of Devi Sita in the Swayamvar.

After having peacefully lived in Ayodhya for many years giving pleasure and serving her in-laws, when Maharaj Dasharath wanted to enthrone Ram as the king of Ayodhya but was forced to send him to the forest due to the two boons that he had promised to his wife Kaikeyi, Sita Devi insisted on accompanying Lord Ram to the forest. This shows how she was completely dedicated to her husband and made no considerations about the discomforts that she may have to face in the rough terrain of the forests. Her decision was praised by all respectable personalities in the society and she was considered as the personification of devotion to her husband. 

When she was thus traversing through the forests with her husband and brother- in-law, never did she complain about any inconveniences, rather she was faithfully serving Ram and keeping a happy demeanor for his pleasure. Once while living in the forest, before the kidnapping of Sita, Lord Ram invoked Agni dev and entrusted Devi Sita in his care, in order to carry out the lila for which he had descended on this earth. Thereafter, in Panchavati after the episode of Shurpanakha and the killing of Khar and Dushan, on Ravan’s instruction Marich disguised as a golden dear to captivate Sita, and Ram went to catch the dear on Sita’s insistence. 

After hearing the calls for help, that were actually made by marich in the voice of Ram, Sita instructed Laxman to go help Ram, but understanding that there was some demoniac game at play Laxman refused to go. However, he had to eventually submit to the orders of his sister-in-law and for her protection drew a line around the cottage, which he requested her not to cross. In the absence of the two brothers, the deceitful demon Ravan came disguised as a Brahman and begged for alms. When Sita asked for forgiveness for not being able to cross the line and come to serve him and instead humbly asked him to come forward, he threatened to curse her and thus making her fearful forced her out of the line. 

At that time revealing his true identity and his lusty intentions, he dared to kidnap Devi Sita, who is the mother of the entire universe and thus ensured his destruction in the near future. In truth he had actually only taken Chaya Sita, for if the actuall Sita would be there, due to her fierce purity and sanctity, he would have been burned immediately. But the pastimes of the Lord are inconceivable and Sita wanted to give the credit of saving her to her husband and also the Lord wanted to kill all the demons on the planet which would have been possible only by having a war.

‘Vinash kale vipreet budhi’ is a famous saying which means that at the time of one’s destruction one is not able to think properly and that was the situation with Ravan. Despite the constant requests and suggestions from his wife and brother, to hand over Devi Sita to Lord Ram, Ravan, stubborn and proud as he was, did not heed their wise council, which led to his destruction and the destruction of the entire demon society at the hands of Lord Ram and his army. After the war, however, instead of accepting Sita back, Lord Ram instructed Devi Sita to prove her chastity by entering fire. 

This was done not because Lord Ram had any doubts about her pristine character, on the contrary he was well aware that the real Sita was under the protection of Agni dev and therefore in order to curtail the possibility of others questioning her chastity and to get back the real Sita, this pastime was performed by the Lord, which is truly inconceivable for the ordinary human brain.

Thereafter, upon their return to Ayodhya and the coronation of Lord Ram, they lived happily in their kingdom till yet another painful pastime came to take place. In Ayodhya, there occurred an incident that one day the wife of one of the citizens returned home after having spent a night elsewhere due to various reasons and the husband refused to accept her in his house, and said that he was not Ram that he could except a woman back in his house who had stayed with another man. 

This although highly inappropriately said by the person, but Lord Ram, being the king, had to ensure that his subjects had faith in him and therefore he instructed Laxman to take Sita, who was at that time pregnant, to the forest under the pretext of visiting the saints, which Devi Sita was always very eager for, and to leave her in the forest and tell her that Lord Ram had given her up due to the unrest amongst the subjects in the kingdom. 

With a heavy heart Laxman carried out Lord Ram’s order and took Sita to the forest and left her there. When Devi Sita found out the true reason for their coming to the forest, she was heartbroken, but due to her unflinching faith and love in her Lord, she accepted his order and took up an austere life for his pleasure in the hermitage of Rishi Valmiki. In due course of time she gave birth to two boys, namely Luv and Kush, and they grew up under the care and instructions of Rishi Valmiki.

When Devi Sita was in the forest, Lord Ram decided to perform a horse sacrifice and requested the royal preist Rishi Vashisht to conduct it. Thereupon, the Rishi told Ram that he could only perform the sacrifice with his wife, or if that was not feasible then he should get married again. This however was not exceptable to Ram as whatever he had done was due to the public and he personally had no doubts whatsoever about her purity and he had taken a vow not to marry anyone else. In order to solve this dilemma, the sage instructed Ram to make a golden statue of Sita to sit in the yajna with him, after which every year a new deity of Sita Devi was made. 

In one such sacrifice, Luv and Kush happened to sing the Ramayan, which they had learned from their guru Valmiki, the author of Ramayan, which stole the hearts of all those who were assembled there. When eventually everyone got to know that they were Lord Ram’s sons, Devi Sita was called to the court to come and once again prove her chastity so that Lord Ram may except her and the boys. When Sita came to the court, she was accompanied by Valmiki Rishi who proclaimed in front of everyone that she was pure and that they should except her on his word as he had never spoken a lie, but despite this, she was asked to prove herself. 

Then as the ultimate proof, she invoked Mother Earth and requested her to take her back in her lap from where she had originally appeared. Answering her prayers, Mother Earth appeared and to everyone’s dismay Devi Sita entered the earth and in this way brought her pastimes on this earth to an end. Lord Ram was very much aggrieved by Sita Devi’s entering the earth but he then excepted his sons and ruled on the earth for many more years before ending his pastimes.

In this way, the life of Devi Sita is truly inspirational, in the way that despite all the troubles that came her way even though she is the eternal consort of Lord Ram, her mood was always to serve him and she was always most merciful to all those around her. On her auspicious appearance day, we pray to her for her causeless mercy that we may be able to attain unflinching devotion for Krishna.

Story of Ajamila (Srila Prabhupada video)

Jvalamukhi's New Video

Tribute to Tribhuvaneshvari Dasi

PADA: Mother Tribhuvaneshvari Dasi was a great friend of ours. She told me confidentially one day, she was mortified -- having been removed from her deity service in ISKCON, because she did not want to assist a program where the pooja to Krishna had to be offered first to Hansadutta. And as a result of her being purged from ISKCON, she said to me she had "lost her will to live." She said she missed seeing her deity too much, and could not go on living without Krishna's deity darshan and association.

About one year later she was in the hospital, diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was visiting her in the hospital, and she was nearly gone at that time. At our last visit, she was unconscious for the whole time I was chanting, but just before I left, I put my hand on her forehead (to say good bye) and she opened her eyes all of a sudden and she smiled, "Oh Puranjan, haribol!" 

I think she was conveying to me to remember our previous conversation, about her "lack of will to live." And so now -- she was checking out of here, because she wanted to go to a place where she could serve Krishna without being harassed. And that is where we believe -- she went! Some of the gopis who were restrained from seeing Krishna -- also left their bodies.

That was the last time we saw her, she died shortly after that. I really miss her and devotees like her. As we see, these type people cannot be readily replaced, the deity program suffered ever since. As for the regime which halted the services of so many devotees like this, well, there is what is called pay back from the higher authorities, ok such as Lord Yamaraja. The regime will never be excused for treating so many great souls this way, never mind causing them to feel mortified if not to die prematurely. ys pd

How Can ISKCON be Saved? (ISKCON times)

http://www.iskcontimes.com/reason-why-the-original-iskcon-was-destroyed-and-how-it-can-be-saved/

Bhakti Vijnana Swami update (where's the lost $$$ millions?)

Jaya Madhava Das: With the resignation of the former GBC of Moscow, Russia, who's in charge in Russia? What's the future of Krsna Consciousness Standards and Practices in Russia? Is it' future going to be more in line, or less in line with HDG Srila Prabhupada?

Following is the recent resignation letter of the Moscow GBC in Russia, H.H. Bhakti Vijana Goswami, whom I've known personally as a friend since 1999. He is under too much pressure. He has overstepped his authority as GBC and has decided to do ISKCON his way (Radhanath Swami-style and other strange ideas).

On a sincere personal note, I care about Bhakti Vijana Goswami. I have seen him change dramatically since he got initiation from Radhanath Swami and became a GBC and Guru. Then I became very concerned things were going off in a strange direction for ISKCON in Russia. As I told them, my fears are correct.

The fact is, the GBC and leaders must follow Srila Prabhupada to the letter. It's a razors edge. If not, they will suffer reactions, and it's been seen that Krsna will act to clean up Srila Prabhupada's house sooner or later, and when Krsna acts it will be dramatic.

I have sincere good feelings about Bhakti Vijana Goswami as he is a good soul, but no one is perfect, and power and too much independence can be a danger to any leaders in ISKCON. I know he is a sincere devotee. I also am of the opinion that personality cults are now in ISKCON. Aligning himself with Radhanath Swami was a fatal mistake on his part.

HDG Srila Prabhupada is Founder-Acharya of ISKCON and the Sampradaya Acarya. Every GBC and guru should follow him in strict detail and without compromise. Due to compromise and mission drift, sooner or later it catches up with the doers and when it does, burn-out occurs. Or worse, bloop-out fall downs. I knew Maharaja is no manager, that was the GBC body's fatal mistake, giving Russia to him with full control with no accountability whatsoever. We have seen this before and every time the same results: a fall down or burn out big time by a GBC or guru.

Bhakti Vijana Goswami's history as a Krsna Consciousness leader here is great. He held the show together for a long time, to his credit. But it's too much for one man and without accountability, or help and guidance, it's fatal.

Maharaja did much to save the Moscow Yatra and was here during the Soviet Union times. That in itself makes him a hero. He was initiated by Harikesa Swami and then took re-initiation and sannyasa from Radhanath Swami - a man with a very dark past and questionable Krsna consciousness.

This is another sad story and history reads itself in ISKCON-all over again. Jiv Jago. GBC Body wake UP! When will the GBC and gurus properly follow Srila Prabhupada's standards and practices for Krsna Consciousness? How many more GBC and gurus will hit the dirt and burn out?

Bhakti Vijana Goswami's letter below reveals that he is in stress and exhaustion from management. What management? I ask that sincerely. I have seen so many Krsna consciousness standards lapse in Moscow. Who's in charge in Moscow, Russia? Remote control? Empower form a distance, micro managing unqualified people? Delegate and forget about it?

Then we have a Temple Board. Show me where Srila Prabhupada gave permission for any such management? Where is it he gave the instructions for Temple Boards? It's nowhere to be found... And moreover, why is the community here shrinking and leaders gone into cults or independent mode?

Where is the accountability for the millions of dollars raised for the building of the Moscow Temple that NEVER GOT BUILT? Where's the money gone? Into Outer Space? Mismanaged? Into speculations, concoctions? Is it lost… stolen??? No information available... just resign.

What's the story? Silence from the Russian GBC. Devotees in Russia are now asking questions and its about time we reviewed all the mistakes made in ISKCON Russia and not to repeat the same mistakes being made in the West. Anyone in Russia care? Sleeping?

This dramatic scene playing out again in ISKCON, and the excuses behind the resignation from the GBC we have heard time and time again ... Jaggadisha, Hansadutta, Bhavananda, Harikesa Swami, Mr. Ping Pong Swami from Beverly Hills, California … Satsvarupa Goswami insanity, Prabhavisnu Goswami, etc., all went down with the ship the same way. All GBCs and gurus used the same excuses to hide their same problems in flowery words of "I'm exhausted".

I have cautioned the GBC for Moscow for many years, not to deviate from Srila Prabhupada's standards, programs and practices for Krsna consciousness – not even a micro inch. He has not listened to my warnings, not at all. He just gave them lip service.

As far as I'm concerned, as a Harikesa disciple he took a unnecessary re-initiation. The rest is going into these details…

When asked questions about Krsna consciousness problems in Russia, I've always gotten the polite run around or have been ignored for pointing out the deviations in Moscow and Russia ISKCON. But now it's coming out.

ISKCON is not some GBC /guru toy to experiment with and change things. The gurus are not Srila Prabhupada's successors, and are not empowered to change anything in ISKCON. NO Change. It's not bona fide. Srila Prabhupada's direct disciples are treated so badly, ignored and even banned simply for repeating Prabhupada's instructions now in ISKCON. 

That's a fact. Meanwhile, the Prabhupada disciples who keep their mouths shut, rise in the institution. But that's just what we have seen since 1978, after Srila Prabhupada left the planet. We saw 11 zonal gurus pretend to be pure devotees, and its still being done now. When will there be guru reform, and reform of the GBC and BBT? When will reform be introduced and made mandatory in ISKCON?

When will the GBC Body get off their collective asses and admit that Srila Prabhupada is the only one to be worshiped? When will they stop changing his books and put HDG Srila Prabhupada BACK IN THE CENTER in ISKCON? It will take more than mere lip service to save ISKCON from being destroyed from within by its own leaders and devotees.

So many of the problems that we read about in current ISKCON are a direct result of "Mission Drift. The leaders are disobeying Srila Prabhupada's Instructions on guru-tattva, and his pure Krsna consciousness standards and practices on so many issues are being ignored.

I wish Bhakti Vijanan Goswami well, very sincerely, but I am seeing history repeat itself. The bigger you are, the harder you fall... Falsely imitating Srila Prabhupada's position and worship must end in ISKCON, once and for all time.

Small Gopi Dancing at Kirtana

May 2017 Vaishnava Calendar

Desktop Background Image

Gargamuni Exposes Narayana Maharaja / Gaudiya Matha

Family's kirtan (Ramananda Raya video)

Bhakti Vijnana Swami "Another Retired Guru"?

Bhakti Vijnana Swami and Radhanath 

Bhakti Vijnana Goswami was born in Tashkent, former Soviet Union. He took to spiritual life in 1980, during a difficult time during the communist era in the former Soviet Union, when the National Security forces were harassing any type of spiritual practitioner. Despite these obstacles, Bhakti Vijnana Goswami—a scientist, a Moscow State University graduate and postgraduate student at Institute of Molecular Biology—decided to experiment with the Hare Krishna mantra. 

To his great happiness, it moved him profoundly. He is a disciple of Radhanath Swami and resides primarily in Moscow, Russia, working tirelessly towards the building of a monumental temple there. He travels widely throughout Russia sharing Krishna Consciousness.

Since 1997 Bhakti Vijnana Goswami has acted as a member of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission and since 2005 has served as one of the initiating gurus of ISKCON. His zonal responsibilities include Georgia (CIS) and Israel. He serves as co-zonal secretary for Eastern and Western Siberia, Northwest CIS, Ural Region, Moscow, Southern, Central Region, CIS, Golden Ring, Armenia, Far East and also co-GBC for North and South Korea.

On July 1, 2010 the Council for Public Awards of the Russian Federation awarded Bhakti Vijnana Goswami a medal “for professional and business reputation” third degree, “for his contribution in strengthening Russian-Indian friendly relations, and for his contribution to the popularization of the spiritual-cultural literary heritage of India.”

[PADA: OK wait a minute, he thinks he is like Jesus and he can be a diksha guru and absorb sins? Then he wonders why he "feels exhausted"?]

(Translated -- so there might be some errors)

Dear Vaishnavas,

Please accept my obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada!

The last two months were very difficult for me. The tension over the past weeks has been superimposed upon my chronic fatigue, accumulated over some years now. And all of this has led to my complete nervous and physical exhaustion - the state in which I now reside. Similar, although not as severe, this is the condition I had occasionally before. Now it is much more severe. 

Short breaks helped me to recover a little, but my recovery was never complete. Even during the recovery periods of resting, a sense of duty did not allow me to fully retire. Now, however, the situation is much more serious, so the senior Vaishnavas recommended me to take an extended vacation for an indefinite period and to depart my management role. My communication with the outside world during this period will be reduced to an absolute minimum. My body and mind are in need of a complete rest and recuperation.

I really hope for your understanding and support this.

It is difficult to say how much time I will need, but I will not be able to participate in any programs planned for the coming months. As for the more remote scheduled dates, they are also open to question. Dina-Caitanya will contact the organizers of all planned programs, we will look at how to minimize undesirable consequences of this decision.

My condition forces me to look differently at what I was doing all this time. For many years I often acted against my real nature, being forced to deal with management issues. According to Krishna, it is dangerous for us and can lead to complete exhaustion. Just the opportunity to talk about the philosophy of Krishna consciousness has saved me all this time. 

I love diving into the Scriptures, to talk about Krishna and to help people, but management is not my strength, although the role of manager constantly demanded me to act this way. Some time ago I wanted to pass this responsibility on to the younger devotees. I now feel a deep need to drastically take a more natural position, more appropriate to my abilities. At the same time, I am very grateful to Srila Prabhupada and senior Vaishnavas because they have given me the opportunity to serve - albeit imperfectly - for the mission.

I also feel a very deep gratitude to the devotees, with whom I share bonds of a joint service. I want to believe that by taking a more natural position, I can continue to help them, but not as a manager. So I can do the most good. Support from devotees has helped and I hope that this decision will also be accepted. I think that my more or less retirement and change of my role will help many young, talented devotees to more fully demonstrate their abilities in serving the mission of Srila Prabhupada and take on more initiative and more responsibility.

Take this opportunity to apologize to all the devotees who I wittingly or unwittingly offended or hurt. Relationship with the vaiṣṇavas is the most dear thing in my life.

Your servant, BV Goswami.

===========================

[PADA: Not really sure what you folks are managing? 

For starters, Radhanath destroyed New Vrndavana by his encouraging the criminal regime of Kirtanananda there. And this created a huge criminal scandal for the entire movement worldwide, as these crimes were reported in the news media. And now you folks managed to bury the sexual predator Kirtanananda in the holy dham? Is this management we need?

Your folks are spending $$$ millions of dollars in Dallas after being sued for your child abuse program; 

Your folks (headed by Radhanath) are spending perhaps $20 million dollars suing the Prabhupadanugas in India; 

Your folks are now being charged with criminal contempt in the Bangalore court -- which we are told -- your folks will spend more millions defending your criminal agents; 

Your folks (headed by Radhanath) got a lawyer to block us from getting our books from the printers; 

Your folks are being taken to the Attorney General in New York for hi-jacking the Brooklyn temple; 

Your folks are being charged by a number of ex-kulis with current mis-management of the Vrndavana gurukula, which is apparently still committing abuse, and which was recently involved in a student drowning there, in part because allegedly -- proper funds were not being used to maintain the facility and hire proper people. 

Where is your managing?

The new people will not be able to "take over" and start managing properly, as long as your program is still blocking them, and you folks are still taking control of the over arching management. All of these lawsuits are the result of your folks blocking practical people who wanted to see things managed properly.     

And worse, you are claiming to be a diksha guru who can absorb sins like Jesus is also doing. Srila Prabhupada said we neophytes will fail (have nervous and physical break downs?) if we try to act as sin absorbing messiahs. Who told you its a good idea to imitate Jesus? Of course you will fail. Long overdue! 

And now you will simply join the ranks of many other retired GBC's gurus, like Bhagavan, Satsvarupa, Hrdayananda, Jayapataka, Harikesha, Ramesvara, Hansadutta, Bhavananda, Jayatirtha, Kirtanananda, Ravindra Swarup, Prithu, and many more, who have "retired from management" -- after you folks promoted fools as your acharyas and ruined the lives of countless people, and ruined the ISKCON movement in the process. 

You make a big mess, then retire? How is that helping? You should not retire, you should fix the mess you made first, then retire. Anyway, now you folks have created yet another deviation, the retired acharya's syndrome, more foolishness on top of foolishness. Anyway, have a good rest, you will need it, because you will carry the accumulated sins of your followers along with you into many future lifetimes, and you will have a lot of work to do in the coal mines of the lower planets working off all this karma. 

It is forbidden for us neophytes to act as a diksha guru and accept karma, this is rule no. 1 for us neophytes. We cannot violate these rules and expect a smooth ride, that will never happen, rather the ride will be very bumpy. Surrender all your assets and followers to Srila Prabhupada, and this might save you somewhat. ys pd]   

Modern Youth Backing Away from Religion

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/04/30/ten-reasons-millennials-are-backing-away-from-god-and-christianity.html

"Krishna Killers" Book Needs Funds

https://www.gofundme.com/krishna-killers-book-printing

[PADA: I have worked with the author on many details in the books, its going to be pretty accurate. It details the rise and fall of the GBC's living guru empire, and one of its chief exponents Kirtanananda swami. ys pd  

Torben Nielsen Flip Flops on Guru Issue

[PADA: First of all, Torben, Ajit Krishna, Kim Moller and many others argued with PADA that "any initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada who chants their rounds can be a diksha guru." What? Anyone who chants their rounds is equal to Jesus and he can accept sins like Jesus? Where did Srila Prabhupada say that anyone who "chants their rounds" can take the post of a parampara acharya or messiah and absorb sins etc.? 

Torben was never able to show us quotes to that effect, because none exist! Torben was actually quoting Jayadvaita swami, who says "anyone who chants their rounds" can be a diksha guru. Probably same problem we have with Hanuman das, he thinks someone ELSE is going to be the diksha guru other than Srila Prabhupada. "Someone" who is chanting their rounds? 

Worse! This idea simply drags these ersatz messiahs down, they absorb sins and then they fall down, get sick, or die. That is the way forward, people should fall down, get sick and die? Toben has never explained why he wanted all of the disciples of Srila Prabhupada to become ersatz messiahs and fall down, get sick -- and die, by being imitation messiahs?  

And worse, Torben's program has had the entire ISKCON society offering their bhogha to Torben's conditioned soul gurus, so under the Torben plan, everyone is eating BHOGHA because we cannot offer bhogha to conditioned souls, whether they are chanting their rounds or not. Of course the GBC has made an executive order to have people monitor Jayapataka because, he was not chanting his rounds. How do we even know if Torben's messiahs are chanting their rounds? We don't! Rather we know in many cases, they are not!

http://krishna1008.blogspot.com/2017/04/offering-to-bogus-gurus-does-not.html

Wow, so Torben, and not Krishna, has been the one "giving the order" that anyone of the disciples can be a diksha guru! Now he says, only the previous acharyas or Krishna can give this order. OK wait a minute, how did Torben previously take the place of Krishna, because he was ordering people to become diksha gurus, and he was by-passing God? 

Anyway, he is now right, and this is what PADA said all along, the previous acharyas and / or Krishna gives the order for people to become diksha gurus, not the GBC or Bhakta Torben! So Torben appears to have woke up to the fact, he is not Krishna, and so he cannot give anyone the order to become a diksha guru, never mind he was previously giving the order to thousands of people to become diksha gurus up to now! He finally realized, he is not Krishna?   

Anyway, we are glad he has started to do some research on this topic! Yes, the previous acharyas and / or Krishna are the persons who give the order for a person to be guru, NOT TORBEN or the GBC, or the Gaudiya Matha or etc. Good progress! This means, Torben agrees with the ritviks, all of these people were never diksha gurus because they did not have the order, and he was a complete fool to give thousands of people the order to become diksha gurus because he thought he was Krishna and he could give this order. He has finally realized, he is not Krishna! Goody! ys pd

Torben Nielsen — DENMARK —

"Indian man: When did you become the spiritual leader of Krsna consciousness?
Srila Prabhupada: What is that?
Brahmananda: He's asking when did you become the spiritual leader of Krsna consciousness?
Prabhupada: When my Guru Maharaja ordered me. This is the guru-parampara.
Indian: Did it...
Prabhupada: Try to understand. Don't go very speedily. A guru can become guru when he's ordered by his guru. That's all. Otherwise nobody can become guru.
Indian woman 2: (Hindi)
Prabhupada: (Hindi) Sadhi mam prapannam. "I am surrendered to You. Whatever You say, I shall carry out." That's all.
Indian man: When did he tell you to...?
Prabhupada: What is the business, when did he tell me? And why shall I disclose to you? It is so very insignificant thing that I have to explain to you?
Indian man: No, I am just curious when...
Prabhupada: You should be curious within your limit. You should know that one can become guru when he is ordered by his guru, this much." (Srila Prabhupada Bg Lecture - Nairobi, 1975)

So we can understand from this exchange that Srila Prabhupada is not referring to the general order from Mahaprabhu to become guru:

yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

"Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land."

(Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 7.128)

Srila Prabhupada in the above conversation is talking about becoming initiating guru, diksa guru, because the order from Mahaprabhu is public knowledge. It is written in many places. That is the order of becoming a siksa guru. And Srila Prabhupada mentions it in innumerable places.

Srila Prabhupada says that his order from Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was significant and confidential, 'Why I shall disclose to you?'

Therefore by logic, Srila Prabhupada must be referring to the order of him taking disciples personally. Otherwise he could easily have answered the question referring to the Mahaprabhu order. He did not.

This sheds light to the ongoing guru / Ritvik/ GBC controversy of who is a bona fide guru. The order must be there. Either the general order to become guru (siksa) or the specific order to take disciples (diksa).

This will raise a natural question, 'How can Srila Prabhupada order a disciple to become initiating guru after Srila Prabhupada has departed?' The answer is quite obvious and can best be illustrated by a personal experience I had five years back: "Torben!".

Hope this will clear some of the many misunderstandings which have marred ISKCON since His Divine Grace´s departure in 1977.

[PADA: Right the general order is for people to become shiksha gurus, and for Torben to say he (or the GBC?) can order people to be diksha gurus is bogus and wrong. So the only person who has this order is Srila Prabhupada, so he is still the current diksha guru. Great progress Torben! ys pd]

Offering to bogus gurus does not produce Prasadam

http://www.iskcontruth.com/2014/10/food-offered-to-bogus-gurus-does-not.html