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Further Comments on Marriage Compatibility
BY: DHARMAPAD DAS
Feb 08, BRAZIL (SUN) — I have read the comments by Hamsavatar das on my article, "Marriage Compatibility. Well, I think we have an issue or two.
One thing I wanted to do in my article was make a differentiation between mere matching and the actual divination of destiny. Hamsavatar didn't really delve into this difference (he didn't have to), but he did write: "As Dharmapad rightfully said, it is far more important what we see as to the implications of the entire horoscope, rather than only using kuta matching as a basis." A very gracious and correct comment for sure, but it seems as if he is saying that the kuta-matching compatibility is to be grouped in as one of the other horoscopic indicators, but that it couldn't be the only one considered.
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Vijaya Ekadasi
BY: SUN STAFF
Feb 08, CANADA (SUN) — The glories of Phalguna-krsna Ekadasior Vijaya Ekadasi, from the Skanda Purana. Vijaya Ekadasi is observed on February 9th.
Yudhisthira Maharaj said, "Oh Lord Sri Krishna, O glorious son of Vasudeva, please be merciful to me and describe the Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna (February-March)."
Lord Sri Krishna replied, "Oh Yudhisthira, Oh king of kings, gladly I shall tell you about this great fast, known as Vijaya Ekadasi. Whoever observes it certainly achieves success in this life and the next. All the sins of one who fasts on this Ekadasi and hears its sublime glories are eradicated.
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Shri Krishna Chaitanya-carita Mahakavya
BY: SUN STAFF
Feb 08, CANADA (SUN) —
Fourth Prakrama - Seventh Sarga
vastra-harana-adi-lila-sthali-darshanam
A Vision of the Site where Shri Krishna Stole the Gopis' Garments, and Other Holy Places
atash ca yamuna-pare / vndaranya sanatanam | tatra nandadayo gopa / vasa cakrur atandritah 1
Krishna Dasa continued, "Then, on the far shore of Yamuna, where the forest of Vrindavana exists eternally, Nanda and the other cowherds busily erected dwelling places.
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ISKCON's Kitchen Helped Flood-affected Places
BY: STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Feb 08, BANGALORE, INDIA (ENS) — Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF) recently got an inernational award. Could you tell us more about the award? APF got the prestigious Tech Museum award for using science to develop highperformance kitchens and food delivery systems to serve hundreds of thousands of children a nutritious daily meal in different parts of the country. The award is also called Microsoft Education Award as it is sponsored by Microsoft. The award carries a cash prize of US $ 50,000. APF was selected from over 650 nominations from 66 countries.
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Using the Terminology
of the Vedas to Discover Siddhanta
BY: ACARYAVILASA DASA
Feb 07, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA (SUN) — Upon reading some of the recent Sun postings, such as 32, on the subject of guru, or spiritual master, one notices a presence that is alarming and, simultaneously, an absence that speaks deafeningly. Srila Prabhupada presented himself in the role of postman delivering the message of the parampara unchanged. A bona fide guru doesn't open the envelope and change the content of the letter. He doesn't rub out words and phrases that he doesn't agree with and, by way of substitution, interpolate his own words and phrases. His pride is in presenting the letter unchanged, not in changing the content. He delivers "As It Is".
Famously, Srila Prabhupada stated, "My only credit is that I did not change anything." And conversely, "My fear is that you will change things. My disciples have got the Changing Disease!" [paraphrased quotes] Some recent guru-subject postings make one wonder just how well the basic principles of a bona fide disciplic succession have been understood by such writers, and just how much such writers are referring to the books of Srila Prabhupada for their knowledge rather than indulging their imagination.
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Unreleased Audio of
Srila Prabhupada
BY: BHAKTA PHILIP
Feb 07, USA (SUN) — I greatly appreciate Ekanatha Prabhu's article, "Setting the Record Straight on Srila Prabhupada's Audio", where he has given some details about all the unreleased audio of Srila Prabhupada. I am sure the world is in great debt to Ekanatha Prabhu and the devotees that have worked very hard for so many years to organize and preserve the audio of Srila Prabhupada.
One thing I noticed that Ekanath Prabhu said in the article is:
"By Krishna's mercy we were given the charge to protect this invaluable collection of our dear-most spiritual master Srila Prabhupada, and make it available."
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Do You Realize These Statements?
BY: GOURA BOLA
Feb 07, INDIA (SUN) — Congratulations Chakreshwara! I completely agree with you that the main teaching of Vedic (or Hindu) literature is as follows: "I am not my body, I am pure spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna."
It is easy to write or say the above sentence. What matters is if the sadhak (or bhakta) realizes the above statement. If you don't realize it, does it matter what kind of society you are part of? That society can be called Hindu, ISKCON, Hare Krishna, etc. I would like to explain to you what the above means, so that the readers will know if they truly understand the above statement. It is useless to write articles if you don't understand these basic principles. The worst obstacle for bhakta is to think that one realizes these concepts when one doesn't.
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Rahu and Ketu: Dragon's Head, Dragon's Tail
BY: DHARMAPAD DAS
Feb 07, BRAZIL (SUN) — In addition to the seven major planets, Vedic astrology considers the Northern and Southern Nodes of the Moon, known in Sanskrit as the Rahu-Ketu axis. These are called the Dragon's Head and Dragon's Tail in Western astrology. In scientific parlance, they are referred to as the magnetic nodes of the Moon. They don't really have physical shape or form, as do the other planets, but they do exist as points of magnetic influence which the Vedic sages deemed to influence human affairs. Their existence was even known to the Mayan Indians of the Yucatan and Central America who used their coordinates in order to calculate eclipses of the Sun and Moon, as have modern astronomers.
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For the Transcendentalist
BY: RAGHU MISHRA
Feb 07, CANADA (SUN) —
yes
for the transcendentalist
one has no plurality of identity
yes for
the transcendentalist one plus one
equals one
nothing
more
no duality ever splits
identity for the transcendentalist
yes
no one is less than complete
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Six Continents Join in Global Prayer for the Yamuna River
BY: MADHAVA SMULLEN
Feb 07, ALACHUA, FLORIDA, USA (IN) — As urban developers threaten to destroy the rich culture and heritage of Vrindavan, India—the holy place of Lord Krishna's birth—devotees around the world united in a globe-encompassing kirtan to pray for the future of Vrindavana and its sacred Yamuna River this January 30th.
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GBC: The Gods Who Failed
BY: KAILASA CANDRA DASA
Feb 06, USA (SUN) — "One should very carefully avoid associating with both the sahajiyas, who are sometimes known as Vaisnavas, and the non-Vaisnavas, or avaisnavas. Their association changes the transcendental devotional service of Lord Krishna into sense gratification, and when sense gratification enters the mind of a devotee, he is contaminated."
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 6.278)
This is one of the heaviest statements or commentaries ever made by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. What he is clearly saying here is that the devotional service of the Supreme can itself be changed —mid-stream, so to speak—into sense gratification. Put in another way, the commentary forcefully indicates that Yogamaya can be converted into Mahamaya. This principle is not well known, although Prabhupada had previously given a hint about it in his Bhagavad-gita:
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Crushing the Mayavadis
BY: CHAKRESHWARA GOSWAMI, M.A.
Feb 06, INDIA (SUN) — Some devotees describe themselves as "Hindu". What is the harm in that? Well, His Divine Grace never claimed to be a Hindu Guru. From the very beginning of Krishna consciousness, indeed the very Introduction to his world-shaping Bhagavad-gita As It Is, he has spoken of how a Hindu can become a Muslim or a Buddhist or a Christian, but Krishna conscious is not about changing outerwear on whim. Krishna consciousness is about realizing "I am not my body, I am pure spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna". Where are the bold preachers today who will say as in one voice with the pure devotee, "We are not Hindus or Christians or Jews or Buddhists but are eternal servants of Sri Krishna?" Are they off somewhere lined up for their "Good Conduct Awards" (and therefore not preaching Prabhupadaji's message)?
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya 6.278)
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Braja Bihari is Still
in Business
BY: MADHAVA DASA
Feb 06, SRIDHAM MAYAPUR, WEST BENGAL (SUN) — I read Rocana prabhu's recent article, "Pizza or Pakoras: Two Sides of the Same Coin", with great interest. Braja Bihari`s article, "Pizza or Pakoras" is clear evidence of his conscious plan for the systematic implementation of liberal, mundane and highly impersonal corporate policies and programs in the name of Krsna Consciousness.
This behind the scenes, impersonal corporate restructuring of ISKCON, under the careful and meticulous guidance of the self-styled corporate guru Braja Bihari, via his created departments such as Strategic Planning Committee, Arnold Zack`s Resolve program, establishment of paid employees, etc., with the help of ISKCON academia and the publication, 'ISKCON Communications Journal' (ICJ), has been taking place for some time.
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Nitya-siddha and
nitya-baddha
BY: GAURAGOPALA DASA
Feb 06, AUSTRALIA (SUN) — Nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha are two characteristics of each individual marginal living entity; they are not separate marginal beings, as some schools of thought believe. Lord Krishna states that our constitutional nature is that all marginal living beings are eternal servants of the Lord. So to say that ‘conditioned' souls have never been ‘unconditioned' in Goloka-Vrndavana is incorrect.
The Lord is absolute, His nature is absolute and therefore everything He says is absolute. When the marginal living beings are in a conditioned state (nitya-baddha) that doesn't take away their eternal absolute nature as a nitya-siddha devotee of Krishna who is forever fixed within the ‘eternal present' of Goloka: the rebellious marginal living entity simply becomes overshadowed with the concept of past, present and future instigated by free-will and choice putting them out of sync with the ‘eternal presents' of Goloka.
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Good Association
BY: MARGARET CONNORS
Feb 06, USA (SUN) — To the man or woman in material consciousness, effected by the temporary appearance of past, present and future pertaining to all in this world, Krsna Consciousness appears an abstract at best - and an illusion at the very worst.
An abstract is expressed thus in its noun form:
Considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; existing in the mind only; as, abstract truth, abstract numbers. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult. Abstract
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Harikesa: Does He Share the Blame?
BY: RAVANARI DAS
Feb 06, USA (SUN) — The cold-blooded murder of an initiate of Harikesa, along with her son, in Washington, DC this week raises the question of the responsibility a guru has towards a disciple. True, the lady had fallen away from the fold of devotees; but that was the example of her guru, the one who promised to save her from birth and death. What can be expected of the follower when the guru succumbs to bodily-conscious sense gratification, like a hog eating its own stool? It is not the job of the disciple to deliver the guru, although many of Harikesa's disciples have proven to be far more faithful and selfless devotees of Srila Prabhupada than Harikesa could ever be. What emerges in the final analysis is that Harikesa willingly gave up his vows and disclaimed publicly any affiliation to ISKCON or the Society's Founder. Therefore, he is responsible for leading thousands of people to hell. Harikesa has created for himself a very grim dose of ugra-karma in exchange for the false pleasure of being worshipped for a very short period of time.
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Pujari Needed for Queens New York
BY: SUNANDA DASA
Feb 06, QUEENS, NEW YORK (SUN) — Sri Sri Krsna Balaram mandir is looking for a male devotee to serve as pujari in their small temple. Must be good at dressing large deities. Good sadhana, 16 rounds, 4 regs, likes preaching, small monthly stipend available.
All ISKCON devotees flying through JFK and La Guardia airports on weekends are welcome to give class and join harinama. Book distributers welcome to distribute in New York, an unlimited field.
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Saturday Laffs
Feb 06, CANADA (SUN) — The Sun's weekly cartoon series.
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Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
