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HTdasa | July 05, 2010

“Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Kirtan led by Maha Vishnu Swami who is our own English sannyasi. Always friendly, always chanting Hare Krishna and never missed a mangala arati. Also featuring Rupa Vilasa, Jaya Laxman, Ragudvaha and Prahladananda Swami. All in all it was a wonderful day. Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!”

Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 4.31.10 Process of Initiation – partial transcription 2008-12-25 Christmas, Los Angeles

So here it says ‘initiation process’, so we should understand [that] initiation, simply sitting at the fire sacrifice and receiving the beads is not the entire initiation process. It is part of the process
of initiation.  But initiation according to Srila Jiva Goswami is the transference of transcendental knowledge.  That is, if someone has transcendental knowledge and if someone wants to receive the transcendental knowledge, there is a process by which the person who wants to give the transcendental knowledge can deliver it to the person who wants to receive it and part of that process is sitting at a fire sacrifice and receiving a name and beads, etc. But it is not
the entire process. If it were so easy we would all be Vaikuntha right now, of course we are in Vaikuntha in one sense, but in another sense we,.. our consciousness may not be fully in Vaikuntha as [of] yet.

Therefore there is process.  Sometimes the devotee say, “At the time of the initiation the Spiritual Master takes all your Karma,”  Has anyone here ever heard that before?  So does anyone here notice that they have a little bit of karma left?  Does that mean that at the time of initiation the spiritual master took all the karma and then gave it back?  No, karma is taken by the Process of Initiation.  And when one fully accepts the process then fully becomes free from his karma.  And as much as we accept the process then to that extent we become free from karma.  That process of the deliverance of transcendental knowledge is the process that frees us from the karma, not the fire sacrifice.  Although the fire sacrifice is supposed to develop the mood of receptivity for the transcendental knowledge, it itself it is not sufficient for liberation.  Or even to receive the transcendental knowledge, it is simply part of the process.

SB 07.04.03-4_What,TheGoodOleDays_2010-06-21 Blip.TV Video

Lecture –  Srimad Bhagavatam 7.4.3-4 What? The Good Ole Days 6-21-2010 – Video Bhaktivedanta Manor

also posted here

posted by Haribol108 — May 03, 2010 — An impression of the Guru puja kirtan part of the Mangala Arati (morning program) at the ISKCON Temple Radhadesh (Septon Durbuy Belgium). Leading voice: HG Vraja Krsna dasa, a senior devotee from South Africa.

posted by jayadeva108 — June 01, 2010

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 22, Text 2 by Prahladananda Swami.

Dallas, TX
2009-12-04

TRANSLATION

Since Your Lordship is indirectly the greatest well-wisher of us demons, You act for our best welfare by posing as if our enemy. Because demons like us always aspire for a position of false prestige, by chastising us You give us the eyes by which to see the right path.

PURPORT

Bali Maharaja considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead a better friend to the demons than to the demigods. In the material world, the more one gets material possessions, the more he becomes blind to spiritual life. The demigods are devotees of the Lord for the sake of material possessions, but although the demons apparently do not have the Supreme Personality of Godhead on their side, He always acts as their well-wisher by depriving them of their positions of false prestige. By false prestige one is misguided, so the Supreme Lord takes away their position of false prestige as a special favor.

PAS_SB08.22.05_QueenKunti’sInstructions_2009-12-04

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 22, Text 4 by Prahladananda Swami.

Dallas, TX
2009-12-03

TRANSLATION

Although a father, mother, brother or friend may sometimes punish one as a well-wisher, they never punish their subordinate like this. But because You are the most worshipable Lord, I regard the punishment You have given me as most exalted.

PURPORT

Punishment meted out by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is accepted by the devotee as the greatest mercy.

tat te ‘nukampam susamikshamano
bhunjana evatma-kritam vipakam
hrid-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak

“One who seeks Your compassion and thus tolerates all kinds of adverse conditions due to the karma of his past deeds, who engages always in Your devotional service with his mind, words and body, and who always offers obeisances to You is certainly a bona fide candidate for liberation.” (Bhag. 10.14.8) A devotee knows that so-called punishment by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is only His favor to correct His devotee and bring him to the right path. Therefore the punishment awarded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be compared to even the greatest benefit awarded by one’s material father, mother, brother or friend.

PAS_SB08.22.04_KindEncouragement_2009-12-03

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 22, Text 3 by Prahladananda Swami.

Dallas, TX
2009-12-02

TRANSLATION

I do not fear being deprived of all my possessions, living in hellish life, being arrested for poverty by the ropes of Varuna or being punished by You as much as I fear defamation.

PURPORT

Although Bali Maharaja fully surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he could not tolerate being defamed for cheating a brahmana-brahmacari, Being quite alert in regard to his reputation, he thought deeply about how to prevent being defamed. The Lord, therefore, gave him the good counsel to prevent defamation by offering his head. A Vaishnava does not fear any punishment. Narayana-parah sarve na kutascana bibhyati (Bhag. 6.17.28).

PAS_SB08.22.03_WhyAfraidOfInfamy_2009-12-02

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7, Text 28 by Prahladananda Swami. (The audio quality improves about half way through the lecture)

Dallas, TX
2009-12-02

TRANSLATION

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.

PURPORT

Those eligible for elevation to the transcendental position are mentioned in this verse. For those who are sinful, atheistic, foolish and deceitful, it is very difficult to transcend the duality of desire and hate. Only those who have passed their lives in practicing the regulative principles of religion, who have acted piously and who have conquered sinful reactions can accept devotional service and gradually rise to the pure knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, gradually, they can meditate in trance on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the process of being situated on the spiritual platform. This elevation is possible in Krishna consciousness in the association of pure devotees, for in the association of great devotees one can be delivered from delusion.

It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.2) that if one actually wants to be liberated he must render service to the devotees (mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimukteh); but one who associates with materialistic people is on the path leading to the darkest region of existence (tamo-dvaram yoshitam sangi-sangam). All the devotees of the Lord traverse this earth just to recover the conditioned souls from their delusion. The impersonalists do not know that forgetting their constitutional position as subordinate to the Supreme Lord is the greatest violation of God’s law. Unless one is reinstated in his own constitutional position, it is not possible to understand the Supreme Personality or to be fully engaged in His transcendental loving service with determination.

PAS_BG07.28_VaikunthaIsNotABakery_2009-12-02

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 22, Texts 1-2 by Prahladananda Swami.

Dallas, TX
2009-12-01

Text 1  -TRANSLATION

Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, although the Supreme Personality of Godhead was superficially seen to have acted mischievously toward Bali Maharaja, Bali Maharaja was fixed in his determination. Considering himself not to have fulfilled his promise, he spoke as follows.

Text 2 – TRANSLATION

Bali Maharaja said: O best Personality of Godhead, most worshipable for all the demigods, if You think that my promise has become false, I shall certainly rectify matters to make it truthful. I cannot allow my promise to be false. Please, therefore, place Your third lotus footstep on my head.

PURPORT

Bali Maharaja could understand the pretense of Lord Vamanadeva, who had taken the side of the demigods and come before him as a beggar. Although the Lord’s purpose was to cheat him, Bali Maharaja took pleasure in understanding how the Lord will cheat His devotee to glorify the devotee’s position. It is said that God is good, and this is a fact. Whether He cheats or rewards, He is always good. Bali Maharaja therefore addressed Him as Uttamasloka. “Your Lordship,” he said, “You are always praised with the best of selected verses. On behalf of the demigods, You disguised Yourself to cheat me, saying that You wanted only three paces of land, but later You expanded Your body to such an extent that with two footsteps You covered the entire universe. Because You were working on behalf of Your devotees, You do not regard this as cheating. Never mind. I cannot be considered a devotee. Nonetheless, because although You are the husband of the goddess of fortune You have come to me to beg, I must satisfy You to the best of my ability. So please do not think that I wanted to cheat You; I must fulfill my promise. I still have my body. When I place my body for Your satisfaction, please put Your third step on my head.” Since the Lord had covered the entire universe with two steps, one might ask how Bali Maharaja’s head could be sufficient for His third step? Bali Maharaja, however, thought that the possessor of wealth must be greater than the possession. Therefore although the Lord had taken all his possessions, the head of Bali Maharaja, the possessor, would provide adequate place for the Lord’s third step.

PAS_SB08.22.01-2_BaliOrHiranyakashipu_2009-12-01