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A LEGACY OF SUFFERING
PADA: Yikes pilgrims, one of my God brothers told me that people like Satsvarupa and Jayapataka suffer a lot -- because all acharyas suffer -- and they are "doing the great job of continuing the legacy of suffering." The legacy of suffering? WTF? Wow, when we take karma without authority, and suffer, that is the plan of Krishna?
It seems people are coming up with all sorts of justification for all the suffering and fall down of these hokey messiahs. I thought Krishna consciousness was supposed to be blissful and not -- a legacy of suffering? Where do I sign up to suffer?
Another God brother told me that I am a weak devotee compared to Jayapataka, because JPS "bites the bullet -- he takes karma -- and yes he suffers greatly -- but without personal consideration -- and he is doing more service than you."
OK if I bite the bullet and dress as a surgeon and go to the hospital to start doing brain surgery, I am going to be arrested for impersonating a surgeon. And maybe arrested for killing a few patients in the process. We cannot just bite the bullet and pretend we are someone we are not, this is called cheating.
We find these guys from time to time in the newspapers. The cheating layman doctors go to the hospital telling everyone they are OBGYN gynaecology women's health experts. Then they inspect a few patient ladies. Ooops, and then the cops come in and arrest and cuff them.
They cannot argue at that time, well someone had to bite the bullet and do that job! It is my service! Hee hee! Not it isn't! Where do these guys come up with all this stuff? It is my service -- to make pretend -- I am the next Jesus? No, it isn't!
ys pd angel108b@yahoo.com
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ANOTHER DEVOTEE HEALTH CRISIS
Where is the devotee help / health care when they need it, but the needs of the hokey messiah's are always funded? Is that just coincidence? Anyway, if anyone can help these folks, they should do so. ys pd
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Hello and Hare Krishna to all.
I am a 17 year old male devotee from America. I will admit that I have not faced any serious abuse like many people within ISKCON have. However I have been through very unsettling experiences.
I started going to an ISKCON temple at 15 years old. I came to the temple on weekends and school breaks to do seva. It started simply and all was well. Eventually one of the elder devotees at this temple started talking with me. He told me that I am a good and strong devotee. He eventually introduced me to his daughter who was 12. I thought nothing of this at first.
But after a while he began asking me what I plan to do going forward. I said once I am out of school I want to live in the ashram and be a brahmachari. He seemed offended by me saying this and started telling me I should be a householder because I am a good man. Overtime he mentioned this more and more.
Eventually he started trying to get me to consider marriage with his daughter. At this point I was 16 and she was 13. He became oddly obsessed with me marrying her and said that I will make good Krishna conscious children with her. Even saying; “your genetics will mix so well.” This made me very uncomfortable. Another time he brought his daughter to the kitchen while I was cleaning. He instructed me to tell her what to do and to let her clean, so I can see how a “good husband treats his wife.”
Eventually I decided to tell other elder devotees and people in the temple about this and it making me uncomfortable. I was told that he is just looking after me and his daughter and that he is trying to set me up for success. Now the man and his family is in Mayapur, I am not sure if they live there now or if they are just having a long stay.
I also learned that I am not the only male devotee which this man has said these things to. He has also seemingly tried to arrange a marriage between his daughter and a 19 year old.
I’m sorry for the long post or if this is not the kind of stuff that is typically posted here. However I have had nowhere else to go with this since many people say that this man had no ill intentions. And this is not just about me being uncomfortable. All the time I worry about his daughter, but I don’t know what I can do to help her. He seems obsessed with setting her up with a man without asking if she agrees.
PADA: Yeesh pilgrims. This poor daughter is probably embarrassed to have such a father. Now they are in Mayapur? That does not sound healthy either! ys pd
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Compiled by Yasodanandan dasa
PADA: Yeesh pilgrims. This poor daughter is probably embarrassed to have such a father. Now they are in Mayapur? That does not sound healthy either! ys pd
=====
Compiled by Yasodanandan dasa
Srila Prabhupada describes the glories of Lord Nityananda Prabhu.
In Rāḍhadeśa, the part of Bengal where the Ganges is not visible, Nityānanda Prabhu, Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, Murāri Gupta and Mukunda took birth
Purport
Here rāḍha-deśe refers to the village of the name Ekacakrā in the district of Birbhum, next to Burdwan. After the Burdwan railway station there is another branch line, which is called the Loop Line of the eastern railway, and there is a railway station of the name Mallārapura. Eight miles east of this railway station Ekacakrā Village is still situated. Ekacakrā Village extends north and south for an area of about eight miles. Other villages, namely Vīracandra-pura and Vīrabhadra-pura, are situated within the area of the village of Ekacakrā. In honor of the holy name of Vīrabhadra Gosvāmī, these places are renowned as Vīracandra-pura and Vīrabhadra-pura.
In the Bengali year 1331 (A.D. 1924) a thunderbolt struck the temple of Ekacakrā-grāma. Therefore the temple is now in a broken state. Before this, there were no such accidents in that quarter. Within the temple there is a Deity of Śrī Kṛṣṇa established by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The name of the Deity is Baṅkima Rāya or Bāṅkā Rāya.
On the right side of Baṅkima Rāya is a Deity of Jāhnavā, and on His left side is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The priests of the temple describe that Lord Nityānanda Prabhu entered within the body of Baṅkima Rāya and that the Deity of Jāhnavā-mātā was therefore later placed on the right side of Baṅkima Rāya. Afterwards, many other Deities were installed within the temple. On another throne within the temple are Deities of Muralīdhara and Rādhā-Mādhava. On another throne are Deities of Manomohana, Vṛndāvana-candra and Gaura-Nitāi. But Baṅkima Rāya is the Deity originally installed by Nityānanda Prabhu.
On the eastern side of the temple is a ghāṭa known as Kadamba-khaṇḍī on the bank of the Yamunā, and it is said that the Deity of Baṅkima Rāya was floating in the water and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu picked Him up and then installed Him in the temple. Thereafter, in a place known as Bhaḍḍāpura, in the village of Vīracandra-pura, about half a mile west, in a place underneath anima tree, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was found. For this reason, the Rādhārāṇī of Baṅkima Rāya was known as Bhaḍḍāpurera Ṭhākurāṇī, the mistress of Bhaḍḍāpura. On another throne, on the right side of Baṅkima Rāya, is a Deity of Yogamāyā.
Now the temple and temple corridor rest on a high plinth, and on a concrete structure in front of the temple is a meeting hall. It is also said that on the northern side of the temple there was a Deity of Lord Śiva named Bhāṇḍīśvara and that the father of Nityānanda Prabhu, Hāḍāi Paṇḍita, used to worship that Deity. At present, however, the Bhāṇḍīśvara Deity is missing, and in his place a Jagannātha Svāmī Deity has been installed. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu did not factually construct any temples. The temple was constructed at the time of Vīrabhadra Prabhu. In the Bengali year 1298 (A.D. 1891), the temple being in a dilapidated condition, a brahmacārī of the name Śivānanda Svāmī repaired it.
In this temple there is an arrangement to offer foodstuffs to the Deity on the basis of seventeen seers of rice and necessary vegetables. The present priestly order of the temple belongs to the family of Gopījana-vallabhānanda, one of the branches of Nityānanda Prabhu. There is a land settlement in the name of the temple, and income from this land finances the expenditures for the temple. There are three parties of priestly gosvāmīs who take charge of the temple management, one after another. A few steps onward from the temple is a place known as Viśrāmatalā, where it is said that Nityānanda Prabhu in His childhood used to enjoy sporting with His boyfriends by enacting the rāsa-līlā and various other pastimes of Vṛndāvana.
Near the temple is a place named Āmalītalā, which is so named because of a big tamarind tree there. According to a party named the Neḍādi-sampradāya, Vīrabhadra Prabhu, with the assistance of twelve hundred Neḍās, dug a great lake of the name Śvetagaṅgā. Outside of the temple are tombs of the Gosvāmīs, and there is a small river known as the Mauḍeśvara, which is called the water of Yamunā. Within half a mile from this small river is the birthplace of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. It appears that there was a big meeting hall in front of the temple, but later it became dilapidated. It is now covered by banyan trees. Later on, a temple was constructed within which Gaura-Nityānanda Deities are existing. The temple was constructed by the late Prasannakumāra Kārapharmā. A tablet was installed in his memory in the Bengali year 1323 (A.D. 1916), in the month of Vaiśākha (April-May).
Another place nearby is named Hāṅṭugāḍā. It is said that Lord Nityānanda Prabhu brought all the holy places there. Therefore, the people in the surrounding villages go there instead of to the Ganges to take bath. It is named Hāṅṭugāḍā because Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu used to perform the dadhi-ciḍā festival of distributing chipped rice with yogurt prasāda there and He took the prasāda kneeling down. A sanctified lake in this place is always full of water throughout the year. A great fair is held there during Goṣṭhāṣṭamī, and there is another big fair on the birthday of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā it is described that Halāyudha, Baladeva, Viśvarūpa and Saṅkarṣaṇa appeared as Nityānanda Avadhūta.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition: Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 13: The Advent of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu : Adi 13.61
After this function at the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Nityānanda Prabhu appeared, and when He met with Lord Caitanya, He got the opportunity to see Him in His six-armed form.
Purport
The form of Ṣaḍ-bhuja, the six-armed Lord Gaurasundara, is a representation of three incarnations. The form of Śrī Rāmacandra is symbolized by a bow and arrow, the form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is symbolized by a stick and flute like those generally held by a cowherd boy, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is symbolized by a sannyāsa-daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu, or waterpot.Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu was born in the village of Ekacakra in the district of Birbhum as the son of Padmāvatī and Hāḍāi Paṇḍita. In His childhood He played like Balarāma. When He was growing up, a sannyāsī came to the house of Hāḍāi Paṇḍita, begging to have the paṇḍita's son as his brahmacārīassistant. Hāḍāi Paṇḍita immediately agreed and delivered his son to him, although the separation was greatly shocking, so much so that Hāḍāi lost his life after the separation. Nityānanda Prabhu traveled on many pilgrimages with the sannyāsī. It is said that for many days He lived at Mathurā with him, and at that time He heard about Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes in Navadvīpa. Therefore, He came down to Bengal to see the Lord. When Lord Nityānanda came to Navadvīpa, He was a guest at the house of Nandana Ācārya. Understanding that Nityānanda Prabhu had arrived, Lord Caitanya sent His devotees to Him, and thus there was a meeting between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 17: The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Youth : Adi 17.12
SHABARI AND LORD RAMA
Shabari was a tribal woman from a village. She was a seeker of knowledge and wanted to know the meaning of Dharma. She left home and After days of travel, she met Sage Matanga at the foot of Mount Rishyamukha. She accepted him as guru, serving him with devotion for many years.
When Matanga was about to die, aged Shabari, stated that after serving him throughout her life, she now sought to reach for herself the same "abode of peace" which Matanga had reached. The sage responded that, if she offered seva (service) to the Lord, then Lord Rama would give her darshana. He told her to await Rama's arrival. Then, while sitting in lotus posture, the sage attained Mahasamadhi.
She would go out of her ashram everyday and pluck berries for Rama. She would pluck one, taste it and, if it was sweet, she would put it in her basket, discarding the bitter ones. She wanted to only give the good berries to Rama. Thus, collecting a few berries, Shabari would return to the ashram and eagerly waited for Rama to arrive.
According to the scriptures, even though hundreds of other yogis were waiting to receive Rama in their ashrams, Rama went only to Shabari's ashram because of her sincere devotion. On seeing Rama, Shabari became ecstatic and said,
"There were so many exalted yogis waiting for your darshan, but you came to this unworthy devotee. This clearly shows that you will neither see whether a devotee lives in a palace or humble hut, whether he is erudite or ignorant, neither see caste nor color. You will only see the true bhakti. I do not have anything to offer other than my heart, but here are some berries. May it please you, my Lord."
Rama noticed the bowls, of handmade leaves in which she had offered the fruits and was impressed by the hard work Shabari had gone through to make them for Him and, hence, Rama blessed the tree so that the leaves would naturally grow in the shape of a bowl from then on.
In Rāḍhadeśa, the part of Bengal where the Ganges is not visible, Nityānanda Prabhu, Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, Murāri Gupta and Mukunda took birth
Purport
Here rāḍha-deśe refers to the village of the name Ekacakrā in the district of Birbhum, next to Burdwan. After the Burdwan railway station there is another branch line, which is called the Loop Line of the eastern railway, and there is a railway station of the name Mallārapura. Eight miles east of this railway station Ekacakrā Village is still situated. Ekacakrā Village extends north and south for an area of about eight miles. Other villages, namely Vīracandra-pura and Vīrabhadra-pura, are situated within the area of the village of Ekacakrā. In honor of the holy name of Vīrabhadra Gosvāmī, these places are renowned as Vīracandra-pura and Vīrabhadra-pura.
In the Bengali year 1331 (A.D. 1924) a thunderbolt struck the temple of Ekacakrā-grāma. Therefore the temple is now in a broken state. Before this, there were no such accidents in that quarter. Within the temple there is a Deity of Śrī Kṛṣṇa established by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The name of the Deity is Baṅkima Rāya or Bāṅkā Rāya.
On the right side of Baṅkima Rāya is a Deity of Jāhnavā, and on His left side is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The priests of the temple describe that Lord Nityānanda Prabhu entered within the body of Baṅkima Rāya and that the Deity of Jāhnavā-mātā was therefore later placed on the right side of Baṅkima Rāya. Afterwards, many other Deities were installed within the temple. On another throne within the temple are Deities of Muralīdhara and Rādhā-Mādhava. On another throne are Deities of Manomohana, Vṛndāvana-candra and Gaura-Nitāi. But Baṅkima Rāya is the Deity originally installed by Nityānanda Prabhu.
On the eastern side of the temple is a ghāṭa known as Kadamba-khaṇḍī on the bank of the Yamunā, and it is said that the Deity of Baṅkima Rāya was floating in the water and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu picked Him up and then installed Him in the temple. Thereafter, in a place known as Bhaḍḍāpura, in the village of Vīracandra-pura, about half a mile west, in a place underneath anima tree, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was found. For this reason, the Rādhārāṇī of Baṅkima Rāya was known as Bhaḍḍāpurera Ṭhākurāṇī, the mistress of Bhaḍḍāpura. On another throne, on the right side of Baṅkima Rāya, is a Deity of Yogamāyā.
Now the temple and temple corridor rest on a high plinth, and on a concrete structure in front of the temple is a meeting hall. It is also said that on the northern side of the temple there was a Deity of Lord Śiva named Bhāṇḍīśvara and that the father of Nityānanda Prabhu, Hāḍāi Paṇḍita, used to worship that Deity. At present, however, the Bhāṇḍīśvara Deity is missing, and in his place a Jagannātha Svāmī Deity has been installed. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu did not factually construct any temples. The temple was constructed at the time of Vīrabhadra Prabhu. In the Bengali year 1298 (A.D. 1891), the temple being in a dilapidated condition, a brahmacārī of the name Śivānanda Svāmī repaired it.
In this temple there is an arrangement to offer foodstuffs to the Deity on the basis of seventeen seers of rice and necessary vegetables. The present priestly order of the temple belongs to the family of Gopījana-vallabhānanda, one of the branches of Nityānanda Prabhu. There is a land settlement in the name of the temple, and income from this land finances the expenditures for the temple. There are three parties of priestly gosvāmīs who take charge of the temple management, one after another. A few steps onward from the temple is a place known as Viśrāmatalā, where it is said that Nityānanda Prabhu in His childhood used to enjoy sporting with His boyfriends by enacting the rāsa-līlā and various other pastimes of Vṛndāvana.
Near the temple is a place named Āmalītalā, which is so named because of a big tamarind tree there. According to a party named the Neḍādi-sampradāya, Vīrabhadra Prabhu, with the assistance of twelve hundred Neḍās, dug a great lake of the name Śvetagaṅgā. Outside of the temple are tombs of the Gosvāmīs, and there is a small river known as the Mauḍeśvara, which is called the water of Yamunā. Within half a mile from this small river is the birthplace of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. It appears that there was a big meeting hall in front of the temple, but later it became dilapidated. It is now covered by banyan trees. Later on, a temple was constructed within which Gaura-Nityānanda Deities are existing. The temple was constructed by the late Prasannakumāra Kārapharmā. A tablet was installed in his memory in the Bengali year 1323 (A.D. 1916), in the month of Vaiśākha (April-May).
Another place nearby is named Hāṅṭugāḍā. It is said that Lord Nityānanda Prabhu brought all the holy places there. Therefore, the people in the surrounding villages go there instead of to the Ganges to take bath. It is named Hāṅṭugāḍā because Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu used to perform the dadhi-ciḍā festival of distributing chipped rice with yogurt prasāda there and He took the prasāda kneeling down. A sanctified lake in this place is always full of water throughout the year. A great fair is held there during Goṣṭhāṣṭamī, and there is another big fair on the birthday of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā it is described that Halāyudha, Baladeva, Viśvarūpa and Saṅkarṣaṇa appeared as Nityānanda Avadhūta.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition: Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 13: The Advent of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu : Adi 13.61
After this function at the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Nityānanda Prabhu appeared, and when He met with Lord Caitanya, He got the opportunity to see Him in His six-armed form.
Purport
The form of Ṣaḍ-bhuja, the six-armed Lord Gaurasundara, is a representation of three incarnations. The form of Śrī Rāmacandra is symbolized by a bow and arrow, the form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is symbolized by a stick and flute like those generally held by a cowherd boy, and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is symbolized by a sannyāsa-daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu, or waterpot.Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu was born in the village of Ekacakra in the district of Birbhum as the son of Padmāvatī and Hāḍāi Paṇḍita. In His childhood He played like Balarāma. When He was growing up, a sannyāsī came to the house of Hāḍāi Paṇḍita, begging to have the paṇḍita's son as his brahmacārīassistant. Hāḍāi Paṇḍita immediately agreed and delivered his son to him, although the separation was greatly shocking, so much so that Hāḍāi lost his life after the separation. Nityānanda Prabhu traveled on many pilgrimages with the sannyāsī. It is said that for many days He lived at Mathurā with him, and at that time He heard about Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes in Navadvīpa. Therefore, He came down to Bengal to see the Lord. When Lord Nityānanda came to Navadvīpa, He was a guest at the house of Nandana Ācārya. Understanding that Nityānanda Prabhu had arrived, Lord Caitanya sent His devotees to Him, and thus there was a meeting between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 17: The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Youth : Adi 17.12
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SHABARI AND LORD RAMA
When Matanga was about to die, aged Shabari, stated that after serving him throughout her life, she now sought to reach for herself the same "abode of peace" which Matanga had reached. The sage responded that, if she offered seva (service) to the Lord, then Lord Rama would give her darshana. He told her to await Rama's arrival. Then, while sitting in lotus posture, the sage attained Mahasamadhi.
She would go out of her ashram everyday and pluck berries for Rama. She would pluck one, taste it and, if it was sweet, she would put it in her basket, discarding the bitter ones. She wanted to only give the good berries to Rama. Thus, collecting a few berries, Shabari would return to the ashram and eagerly waited for Rama to arrive.
According to the scriptures, even though hundreds of other yogis were waiting to receive Rama in their ashrams, Rama went only to Shabari's ashram because of her sincere devotion. On seeing Rama, Shabari became ecstatic and said,
"There were so many exalted yogis waiting for your darshan, but you came to this unworthy devotee. This clearly shows that you will neither see whether a devotee lives in a palace or humble hut, whether he is erudite or ignorant, neither see caste nor color. You will only see the true bhakti. I do not have anything to offer other than my heart, but here are some berries. May it please you, my Lord."
Shabari offered the fruits which she had meticulously collected. As Rama tasted them, Lakshmana raised the concern that Shabari had already tasted them and they were, therefore, unworthy of eating. To this, Rama responded that, of the many types of food he had tasted, "nothing could equal these berries, offered with such devotion. Whomsoever offers a fruit, leaf, flower or some water with love, I partake in it with great joy."
Rama noticed the bowls, of handmade leaves in which she had offered the fruits and was impressed by the hard work Shabari had gone through to make them for Him and, hence, Rama blessed the tree so that the leaves would naturally grow in the shape of a bowl from then on.
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