Jul 15, CANADA (SUN) — By Sri Vrindaban Das Thakur – Antya lila, Chapter Four, Part Eight.

The Lord remained a few days more in Santipura enjoying His stay in Advaita Acarya's house. Soon it was time to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Srila Madhavendra Puri's appearance day. Although there is no difference between Madhavendra Puri and Advaita Acarya, yet Advaita Acarya considered Himself to be Madhavendra Puri's disciple. It is certain that Lord Gaurasundara is eternally present in Madhavendra Puri's body. His devotion to the Supreme Lord is unparalleled. By Lord Krishna's grace, the Lord's transcendental potencies were fully manifest in Madhavendra Puri. Kindly hear attentively how Advaita Acarya became a disciple of Sri Madhavendra Puri.

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Deva-Sayana Ekadasi

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 15, CANADA (SUN) — Deva-Sayana (Padma) Ekadasi, from the Bhavishya-uttara Purana, observed on July 17th in Los Angeles and Mayapur.

The saintly king Yudhishthira Maharaj said, "Oh Keshava, what is the name of that Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Ashadha (June - July)? Who is the worshipable Deity for the auspicious day, and what is the process for observing this event?"

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Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Part 98

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 13, CANADA (SUN) — By Sri Vrindaban Das Thakur – Antya lila, Chapter Four, Part Seven.

Suddenly a leper appeared in that assembly and came before the Lord. He threw himself down on the ground like a stick groaning in pain. Then getting up he lifted his arms high and began to wail loudly. He said, "O merciful Lord, You have risen like the sun on this Earth only to dissipate the sufferings of this material life. Your compassionate nature is always moved by the distress of others, and so I have come to You. I am burning in the pain of leprosy. Kindly tell me how I can be relieved of this."

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Offering Bhoga to the Great Lord Jagannath

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 13, CANADA (SUN) — By Dillip K. Samantary for Orissa Review.

The kings who were ruling over Orissa since the Ganga Rule (13th century A.D. onwards) were considering themselves as the servant (Rautta) of the great Lord Jagannath. The same paraphernalia as is found in a royal household is also discernible in the temple of Jagannath Mahaprabhu with much splendour and magnificence. The items of Bhogas that are offered daily to the Deities are many and varied and they are offered with royal dignity and ceremonial purity.

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Jul 13, CANADA (SUN) — The Sun's weekly cartoon series.

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Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Part 97

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 11, CANADA (SUN) — By Sri Vrindaban Das Thakur – Antya lila, Chapter Four, Part Six.

The Lord looked at the devotees sitting around Him and spotted Murari Gupta. The Lord smiled and said to him, "Murari, I heard that you have composed something about Lord Raghava in eight verses. Please read it." Murari began to read the verses in Sanskrit as if in a trance of ecstacy. The meanings of which are, "I constantly serve the lotus feet of Lord Ramachandra, the spiritual master of the three worlds, whose brother, Laksmana, is Lord Ananta. Laksmana is dressed in opulent kingly attire, with a bright golden conplexion, always meditating on serving His older brother, Lord Rama, and who is a most expert archer and is always walking in front of the Lord.

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Hera Pancami

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 11, CANADA (SUN) — From the Bhaktivedanta purports to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Fourteenth Chapter, describing the Hera-pancami-yatra, which is celebrated on this day, four days after the commencement of Ratha Yatra.

Madhya 1.144

In the garden along the road from the Jagannatha temple to Gundica, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu performed various pastimes. A brahmana named Krsnadasa performed the bathing ceremony of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

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Parishads: Sri Vakresvara Pandit

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 11, CANADA (SUN) — The Disappearance day of Sri Vakresvara Pandit is observed on July 11th.

Vakresvara Pandit is the Lord's dear servant, who danced without rest for seventy-two hours. Mahaprabhu himself sang as he danced when Vakresvara fell down at his feet and said, "O moon-faced lord! Give me ten thousand Gandharvas. I will be happy if I can dance while they sing. The Lord answered, "You are like a wing. If I had another like you, I would be able to fly in the sky!" (Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.10.17-20)

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Sri Sri Radhika Astottara-sata-nama Stotram

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 09, CANADA (SUN) — 108 Names of Srimati Radharani by Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami.

aviksatmesvari kascid vrndavana-mahesvarim tat padamboja-maka gati dasyati katara patita tat-saras tire ruda tyartha-ravakulam tac chri-vaktreksanavaptyai namanyetani sanjagau

Some maidservant, unable to find her mistress, has fallen on the bank of Radhakunda, crying in great anxiety, being very eager to take exclusive shelter of Her lotus feet, glorifying Her by singing the following names of Her:

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Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Part 96

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 09, CANADA (SUN) — By Sri Vrindaban Das Thakur – Antya lila, Chapter Four, Part Five.

Advaita Acarya came to the Lord and gained permission for the fortunate Mother Saci to cook for Him. Mother Ai went to the kitchen with bubbling joy thinking, "I am cooking for my Gaurachandra, who is the Supreme Lord Narayana." Innumerable items of food appeared as if by magic. Many of the preparations she cooked were unknown to me and so I have no name to describe them. Mother Saci knows that the Lord loves to eat sak or spinach, so she turned out twenty varieties of sak. In fact, each vegetable was prepared in ten to twenty different ways. After cooking, she brought all the dishes and placed them neatly in the dining hall and put some tulasi buds on each item. In the middle of the room she spread a very nice sitting mat for the Lord.

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Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Part 95

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 07, CANADA (SUN) — By Sri Vrindaban Das Thakur – Antya lila, Chapter Four, Part Four.

After the initial excitement, Advaita Acarya gave more thought to other matters. He sent a messenger to Nabadwip to inform Mother Saci of the Lord's arrival in Santipura. The messenger was transported in a palanquin for speed. He requested Mother Saci to immediately accompany him back to Advaita Acarya's house. Since Lord Chaitanya had left home, Mother Saci had gradually become more and more immersed in an ocean of spiritual bliss of love of Godhead. She was unaware of external situations. She spoke things that had no immediate relevance, or seemed to be listening to someone unseen.

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Lord Jagannatha's
Ratha Yatra

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 07, CANADA (SUN) — As Lord Jagannatha's annual Ratha Yatra gets underway in Puri Dham today, thanks to the mercy benediction of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, people all over the planet have had an opportunity to take darshan of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra. ISKCON Ratha Yatra festivals have been going on in cities, towns and villages everywhere. Still, the devotees hanker for the association of Lord Jagannatha in His own Puri Dham. Although few of us have the opportunity to travel to Orissa for this ecstatic event, technology now makes it possible for us to enjoy real-time video of the Lord's Ratha in Puri.

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Jul 07, CANADA (SUN) — The Sun's weekly cartoon series.

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Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Part 94

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 05, CANADA (SUN) — By Sri Vrindaban Das Thakur – Antya lila, Chapter Four, Part Three.

Lord Chaitanya told the devotees, "I am going to see the Lord of Nilacala." The supremely independent Lord, the source of the highest spiritual bliss, traveled southward, singing and dancing on the way. He stayed close to the Ganga all the way, and in a few days He arrived at Advaita Acarya's house. Advaita Acarya's days were fully taken up blissfully absorbed in watching the wonderous activities of His son, neglecting all other work. Now I will describe these wonderous activities of the son that had so captivated the whole attention fo the father, Advaita Acarya.

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Prabhupada Padma-vakya

July 15, 1973, London
Bhagavad-gita 1.15
"…the sunshine, the sun globe and the sun god. They are all one, but still, the sun globe is not the person, sun god; neither the sunshine is not the person sun, although they are one. This is called acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, inconceivably one and different simultaneously."

Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

108 Divya-deshams:
Thiruvenkadam, Part 2

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 13, CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Thiruvenkadam is considered one of the eight Swayambhu Kshetras of Vishnu, where the presiding deity is believed to have self-manifested. The seven other temples in this line are Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple, Bhu Varaha Swamy Temple and Vanamamalai Perumal Temple in South India; Saligrama in Nepal; and Naimisaranya, Pushkar and Badrinath Temple in North India.

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The Ramayana of Valmiki, Part 380

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 13, CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of 'The Epic Journey of Rama'.

Book V - Canto XXXII. - Sítá's Doubt

Her eyes the Maithil lady raised
And on the monkey speaker gazed.
She looked, and trembling at the sight
Wept bitter tears in wild affright.
She shrank a while with fear distraught,
Then, nerved again, the lady thought:
"Is this a dream mine eyes have seen,
This creature, by our laws unclean?

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108 Divya-deshams:
Thiruvenkadam

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 11, CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Thiruvenkadam, the Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple, is situated in the hills of Tirumala at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. This Divya Desham is dedicated to the worship of Lord Visnu as Venkateswara, with His consort Laksmi and Padmavathi Devi.

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The Ramayana of Valmiki, Part 379

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 11, CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of 'The Epic Journey of Rama'.

Book V - Canto XXXI. - Hanumán's Speech

"Then in sweet accents low and mild
The Vánar spoke to Janak's child:
"A noble king, by sin unstained,
The mighty Daśaratha reigned.
Lord of the warrior's car and steed,
The pride of old Ikshváku's seed.

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108 Divya-deshams:
Thirukkolur

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 09, CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Vaithamanidhi Permual Temple, or Thirukolur, is located on the Tiruchendur–Tirunelveli route in Tamil Nadu, India, on the southern bank of the Thamiraparani River. Eighth of the nine Nava Tirupathi temples, this Divya Desham is dedicated to the worship of Lord Visnu as Vaithamanidhi Perumal with His consort Kolurvalli (Laksmi).

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The Ramayana of Valmiki, Part 378

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 09, CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of 'The Epic Journey of Rama'.

Book V - Canto XXX. - Hanumán's Deliberation

"The Vánar watched concealed: each word
Of Sítá and the fiends he heard,
And in a maze of anxious thought
His quick-conceiving bosom wrought.
"At length my watchful eyes have seen,
Pursued so long, the Maithil queen,
Sought by our Vánar hosts in vain
From east to west, from main to main.

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108 Divya-deshams:
Thirukulandhai

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 07, CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Thirukulandhai Divya Desham, also known as Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple or Sri Mayakoothar Permual Temple, is one of the Nava Tirupatis dedicated to Lord Vishnu and located in Perungulam along the Tiruchendur-Tirunelveli route, on the southern bank of Thamiraparani river in Tamil Nadu. All 9 temples are Divya Desams.

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The Ramayana of Valmiki, Part 377

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 07, CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of 'The Epic Journey of Rama'.

Book V - Canto XXVII. - Trijatá's Dream

"Their threats unfeared, their counsel spurned,
The demons' breasts with fury burned.
Some sought the giant king to bear
The tale of Sítá's fixt despair.
With threats and taunts renewed the rest
Around the weeping lady pressed.

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Parishads: Swarupa Damodar Goswami and Shivananda Sena

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 07, CANADA (SUN) — The Disappearance day of Swarupa Damodar Goswami and Shivananda Sena is observed on July 7th.

Swarupa Damodar Goswami

Mahaprabhu's alter ego

The Lord accepted Shikhi Mahiti's sister as one of Radha's friends. In the entire world, there were only three and a half devotees who were so worthy. They were Svarupa Damodar Goswami, Ramananda Raya and Shikhi Mahiti. His sister was the half person. (Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.2.105-6)

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108 Divya-deshams:
Thiruvaikunda

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 05, CANADA (SUN) — A tour of the 108 Divya-desams, the divine abodes of Lord Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Thiruvaikunda Vinnagaram, or Vaikunta Nathan Perumal Temple, is located in Tirunangur, a village on the outskirts of Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu. This Divya Desham is dedicated to the worship of Lord Visnu as Vaikuntanathan with His consort Vaikuntavalli (Lakshmi). This is one among the eleven Divya Desams of Thirunangur Tirupathis, associated with Lord Shiva's creation of the eleven Rudras after Uma's departure.

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The Ramayana of Valmiki, Part 376

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 05, CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of 'The Epic Journey of Rama'.

Book V - Canto XXVI. - Sítá's Lament

"I Ráma's wife, on that sad day,
By Rávaṇ's arm was borne away,
Seized, while I sat and feared no ill,
By him who wears each form at will.
A helpless captive, left forlorn
To demons' threats and taunts and scorn,
Here for my lord I weep and sigh,
And worn with woe would gladly die.

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Constitution on
Siksa Guru

BY: ROCANA DASA

Jul 05, CANADA (SUN) —

Following the conclusion of the "List of 32" series, we close with an excerpt from the Constitution for ISKCON As It Is, Article 8.5 on the Siksa Guru:

8.5 Siksa Guru

8.5.1 "So Krishna is within as caitya-guru, and when we are serious, He comes out as the spiritual master. Siksa-guru, diksa-guru. So there is no difference between siksa-guru and diksa-guru and Krishna. Krishna manifests Himself externally as siksa-guru and diksa-guru." [48]

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Prayer in Separation of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 05, CANADA (SUN) — On the observance this day of HDG Srila Bhaktivnoda Thakur's disappearance.

Translator's Note: This prayer to Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, the pioneer of Pure Devotion in the recent age, was composed within the lifetime of the author's Guru, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Goswami Prabhupada. Upon reading the original Sanskrit verse, Srila (Bhaktisiddhanta) Prabhupada commented, "Now I am confident that we have one man who is qualified to uphold the standard of our Sampradaya (Divine Succession)." [English Translation by Sripad Swarupananda das.]

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Parishads: Sri Gadadhara Pandit Goswami

BY: SUN STAFF

Jul 05, CANADA (SUN) — The Disappearance day of Sri Gadadhara Pandit Goswami is observed on July 5th.

The incarnation of love who previously was the queen of Vrindavan, Radha, is now the beloved of Gaura named Srila Gadadhara Pandit. Svarupa Damodar himself indicated that he was Vraja’s goddess of fortune, the Lakshmi who was previously the beloved of Shyamasundara in Vrindavan. She today has become the goddess of fortune of love for Gaura and is known as Srila Gadadhara Pandit. Lalita, who is also known as Anuradha, is Radha’s closest friend and confidante. She has also entered into Gadadhara, as was shown in the play Chaitanya-candrodaya. (Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 147-150)

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