Lord Krishna’s pastimes are divine and pleasing, and we cannot understand these great pastimes with tiny material intelligence. Therefore, to understand these great pastimes and follow them in our lives, we need bonafide disciplic succession.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad -Gita

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत

janma karma cha me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna (BG 4.9)

Hey Arjun, Those who understand the divine nature of my birth and activities upon leaving the body do not have to retake rebirth. Instead, they come to my eternal abode directly.

Chronicle of Boat Festival

In ISKCON (International Society For Krishna Consciousness), many festivals are organized. Thus, we can remember the Lord’s great sacred pastimes and purify our tainted hearts.

Among all these saintly Leela’s of Lord Krishna Nauka Vihar is one of them. This Leela is mentioned in a transcendental scripture named “Gopal Champu”, written by Srila Jiva Goswami. It is also mentioned in other scripture.

About Goloka

Goloka Vrindavan is Lord Krishna’s eternal abode, and there the pastimes go on continuously. So the root of this religious festival is also linked with the land of Krishna- ” Goloka Vrindavan”.

Anecdote of Boat Festival

Once all the gopis, their pots filled with yoghurt and butter, came to the shore of river Mansi. They had a desire to cross this Mansi Ganga. They met with a boatman and asked him to take them on the other side of Mansi Ganga. That boatman agreed. As soon as the boat reached afar, the boatman stopped.

The gopis asked the boatman what happened to you, why you suddenly stopped? The boatman replied I am hungry. I want to eat yoghurt and butter. The gopis gave him all the curd and butter they had with them so that boatman did not stop sailing. After eating, he sailed for a while. After covering some distance, he again stopped. He said I was exhausted, wanted to take a rest. Gopis told if he does not start sailing, they will throw him from the boat.

How Radha Rani spotted Sri Krishna

Suddenly the whole sky got filled with clouds. Winds started blowing, and the boat started shaking and moving. Gopis got scared. At the same time, Radha rani’s eyes fell on the boatman. She noticed a flute with him. She identified, it is no one else other than their beloved Krishna. All the gopis were extremely happy, knowing that this was their Krishna’s wish. It is an example of extreme reciprocating love between Lord Krishna and his devotees.

Bond Between Gopis With Krishna

Gopis are immense devotees of Lord Krishna. Their love for Krishna is of utmost and can not be mentioned in words. Those who reached an enormous level in spirituality can understand the love and bonding between Krishna and gopis and appreciate them. 

About Boat Festival Commemoration

The Boat festival is astonishing which will be celebrated this year at Sri Sri Radha Parthsarthi temple. This year it is also significant because due to covid we had not observed this festival last year. So this is the twelveth boat festival we are commemorating. Kaliya Krishna pond area inside the temple campus is decorated with attractive flowers, fruits, balloons and different colours. And the decoration of this place fills the heart with exhilaration. In this, many decorations and paintings are done inside water using beautiful flowers and colours.

How Boat Festival Will Be Celebrated At ISKCON

Sri Sri Radha Parthsarthi’s festive deity (Utsav Vigraha) is taken in a boat with Sri Lalita Ji and

Sri Visakha Ji. That scene is ineffable. Lord is taken to a boat ride along with kirtan, and many preparations are offered to Lord as Bhoga. Thousands of devotees assemble and do kirtan boomingly. Lord is seated in a decorated beautiful boat and takes a ride that scene is pure bliss for devotees.

We are inviting you all to come and take part in this auspicious occasion. When we participate in such a festival, our hearts thrive with darshan, kirtan, remembrance, and the company of advanced devotees makes us feel ecstatic.

So come, let’s celebrate this festival together and acquire the Lord’s blessings by chanting –

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa

Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma

Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

• Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi Boat Festival ki Jai
• Srila Prabhupada ki Jai

Special Favor of Lord Narasimha

Lord Narasimha and Prahlada Maharaja’s Divine Relation

Who is the real protector?

Ideal Standards to Follow on Narasimha Chaturdashi

Lord Narasimha is Coming to ISKCON Delhi

Conclusion

Narsingha means one who is half lion and half man incarnation of Shri Hari. Lord Narsinghdeva is also known as Vighna- Vinashak, as he protects his devotees from all sorts of obstacles. So, this is the special incarnation of the Lord to protect his devotees and their devotion.

Lord Ganesha, also known as Vighna- Harta, that blessing of being Vighna-Harta was given by Lord Narsinghdeva himself. Well, His form appears to be very fearful. But this form is the most loving, merciful & beautiful for his devotees.

Mother Sarasvati resides in the lotus mouth of Lord Narsinghdeva, and Mother Lakshami rests on his chest. This unique incarnation was to protect his beloved devotee, Prahlad, from his cruel father, Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu was a demon who won all three worlds and was always jealous of Lord Vishnu. But as his son, Prahlad was the devotee of Lord Vishnu. So because of False Ego & Jealousy, Hiranykashipu always tries to put Prahlad in miserable and dangerous situations to kill him. But in Inspite of all tortures, Prahlad always remains engaged in singing the names and glories of Lord Hari. This constant chanting of the Lord’s name always saved Prahlad from disasters.

By getting frustrated with so many plans to kill Prahlad, One-day Hiranyakashipu asked him, Who is Protecting you all the time? Is Your Lord present everywhere & in everything? Prahlad replied, Yes, He is omnipresent. Hiranyakashipu becomes angry and asks, is he also present in this Pillar? Again Prahlad replied, yes, He is.

Hiranyakashipu, ghastly, hammered that Pillar with his weapon. As a result, Pillar falls in breaks into pieces. Out of this Pillar, The most ferocious form of Lord Narsinghdeva appeared in front of Hiranyakashipu.
 

By considering this opponent as same as others. 

Hiranyakashipu just started fighting with him. But this time, He was proven wrong. So Lord Narsinghdeva killed him by tearing his stomach with his three highly sharp nails. He killed him so that every word of Lord Brahma’s boon was also fulfilled that either man or Animal would not kill Hiranyakashipu, Neither in the daytime nor at night, Neither inside nor outside the house, Neither on land nor in the sky, e.t.c.

Even after killing Hiranyakashipu, Lord Narsinghdeva was roaring, and everyone was fearful. No one was willing to go near him. But then Prahlad just went near him, withholding a garland for him.
 

After seeing him, Narsinghdeva becomes quiet and loves Prahlad by allowing him to sit on his lap. So, this incarnation is simply the most merciful incarnation of the Lord, which occurred merely to protect his devotee, Prahlad, as He killed Hiranyakashipu. May he similarly kills all demons like Hiranyakashipu, which resides within us, in the form of Lust, anger, greed etc.

Sripad Madhavacharya sings in the glory of Lord Narsinghdeva that our Human Heart is full of Anarthas, which are natural obstacles on the path of Bhakti. Even Vajra of Lord Indra is not capable of removing these anarthas. The only one capable of doing so is Lord Narsinghdeva and his shape nails. Only He can save us from these obstacles of devotional life.

So, Let’s celebrate this auspicious occasion of Narsingha Chaturdashi and Pray unto his Lotus feet always to protect us & our devotion.

Hare Krishna

Fasting Till Dusk

(Only Ekadashi Prasadam tobe taken)

The literal meaning of Sita is a plough. Mithila state was drought-ridden. When King Janaka was ploughing the field, he found one baby girl. He took care of her and raised her as his daughter. Because the mother of the entire world, Janaki, appeared from the earth when Janaka was ploughing the field, he named her ‘Sita’.

Mother Sita has 12 transcendental names –

मैथिली जानकीः सीता वैदेही जनकात्मजा | कृपापियूषजलधिः प्रियार्हा रामवल्लभा ||
सूनायाना सुता विर्यशुल्काअयोनी रसोद्भवा | द्वादशैतानि नमामि वाञ्छितार्थप्रदानि हि ||
(श्री जानकी – चरितामृतम)

1. मैथिली
2. जानकी
3. सीता
4. वैदेही
5. जनकात्मजा
6. कृपापियूषजलधि
7. प्रियार्हा
8. रामवल्लभा
9. सूनयनासुता
10. वीर्यशुल्का
11. अयोनि
12. रसोद्भवा

Mother Sita could effortlessly pick up Shiv Ji’s bow in her childhood, placed on an eight-wheeled cart that could only be picked up by 500 people together. The condition of her marriage was to put a string on the same bow. No one among big-big demigods, Gandharvas, demons, etc., could even move the bow an inch. 

Lord Ramchandra not only put the string on the bow in a moment but also very sportingly broke the bow from the middle. Thus mother Sita was married to Lord Ramchandra.

After marriage, when Lord Ramchandra was exiled to live in the forest for 14 years, mother Sita considered it auspicious to go with the Lord. Sitaji, who had lived in comforts since childhood, accepted the harsh and challenging life of the forest graciously and, without a second thought, accompanied Lord Ramchandra Ji.

Ravana abducted Her from the forest, and several female demons tortured Her in Lanka. Even after that, She forgave them. She also had to undergo agnipariksha. She constantly faced challenges one after another. Mother Sita is the embodiment of sacrifice and dedication. The character of mother Sita portrays us as an ideal wife, a pious, dutiful woman with a forgiving, compassionate, and humble heart.  

Mother Sita has presented an example of a character that is exemplary for all of us. There was no reason for Her to grieve, but She certainly did it to educate us.

And the biggest lesson that Mother Sita Ji teaches us is this, just as the deer of gold attracted Her, She had to turn away from God. In the same way, we are also attracted to the golden deer of material desires. Thus, we leave God’s company and come into this world and struggle. We then have to pay the price for it throughout our lives, just as mother Sita had to pay in Lanka. So, as long as the living entities obey God’s will and His instructions, the living entities would remain happy, but when we separate from God and go against His will, then there would be the same problems as mother Sita had to face Lanka. 

We all have this human form of life, and if we don’t take advantage of this life, If we don’t serve God, then what to say? And for such people, scripture says that they are committing suicide. So that’s why we all should take shelter from the Lord’s internal potency on Sita Navami and make this human form of life victorious. 

Hare Krishna, 

Vasant Panchami is a spring season festival as per the English calendar, celebrated throughout India. Therefore, worshipping mother Saraswati, the goddess of education, creativity, and music, is of great significance. It is also quoted that on the day of Vasant Panchami, Brahma created the goddess Saraswati. That’s why worshipping mother Saraswati on this particular day is unique.  

As per Vedic literature, Lord Krishna blessed goddess Saraswati that on Vasant Panchami, she would be worshipped everywhere. Even today, we can see that people offer their obeisance and worship goddess Saraswati on every Vasant Panchami. In Rigveda, mother Saraswati has been glorified as below –

“Prano Devi Saraswathi, Vajhebhir vajinavathi, Dhinam avithri avathu”

It means – Supreme consciousness in the form of goddess Saraswati protects our intelligence, mind, and psychology. Whatever character and intellect we got are because of mother Saraswati who has unique opulence in terms of prosperity and form. Here supreme consciousness means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna, the original cause of all causes. 

In Bhagavad Gita, Lord says – 

mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya 
mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani-gana iva

“O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.”

The supreme personality of Godhead has given different services to His devotees to govern the material world. For example, Brahma Ji is responsible for the creation, Lord Shiva for annihilation, goddess Laxmi for wealth, and goddess Durga for protecting this material world compared to a prison. Similarly, goddess Saraswati is given a department of knowledge, creativity, and music which she is governing very skillfully. Goddess Saraswati bestows these qualities upon those who worship her and please her with their rituals. However, goddess Saraswati never forgets that the supreme personality of Godhead is her master and all demigods-demigoddess are being engaged in His service. This can be illustrated by the below example – 

As per Ramayana, when Kumbhakaran, brother of Ravana, performed severe austerities to please Brahma, all demigods-demigoddesses became afraid of him. Thus they approached goddess Saraswati and requested her to sit on the tongue of Kumbhakaran when he asked for benedictions from Brahma. Goddess Saraswati assured the demigods and agreed to sit on the tongue of Kumbhakaran. Kumbhakaran wanted Indraasan, the kingdom of Indra, as a benediction, but under the influence of goddess Saraswati, he ended up asking for Nindraasan, oversleeping. In that way, goddess Saraswati assisted demigods to protect the Lord’s creation. 

One more illustration can be seen from Sripad Ramanujacharya’s life. Sripad Ramanujacharya’s spiritual master instructed him to write a Vaishnav-style commentary on Srila Vyasdeva’s Vedanta Sutra. He went to Kashmir-based Sharda peetha to get the original text. When residents of Sharda peetha denied him the original texts, goddess Saraswati personally came and provided him with the original texts. When Sripad Ramanujacharya finished the commentary, mother Saraswati became very much pleased. She presented to Sripad Ramanujacharya her personal deity of `Hayagriva`, a plenary expansion of Lord Shri Hari, and awarded him the title “scholar”.

We can see one more incident where goddess Saraswati showed her allegiance and devotion to the supreme personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna. This particular example is from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s life who Himself is non-different from Krishna. Keshav Kashmiri, a great scholar and a great devotee of mother Saraswati, came to Navdwip for debate based on scriptures. He had already visited all the learning centers of India and was unconquered in all of them. 

Once Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who was popularly known as Nimai pandit at that time was on the bank of river Ganga. There He met Keshav Kashmiri and asked him to create a verse to praise the river Ganga. Keshav Kashmiri, being a learned scholar, created 100 verses in a few minutes. Keshav proudly spoke all 100 verses to Nimai. Nimai not only learned all the 100 verses instantly but also quoted various grammatical errors in the 64th verse. Nimai also quoted errors in a few more verses. Keshav Kashmiri was amazed and stunned at that. 

Keshav Kashmiri was puzzled at how a small boy of Sanskrit grammar school was finding errors in his compositions. At last, goddess Saraswati came in his dreams, as he was a great devotee of goddess Saraswati. She ordered Keshav Kashmiri to take shelter at the lotus feet of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. She also informed him that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is no other than Lord Shri Krishna. In this way, Keshav Kashmiri became a devotee of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. 

All the above incidences show that goddess Saraswati is a unique devotee of Lord Shri Krishna. She is using her post and designation to assist devotees of the Lord. Let us pray to mother Saraswati on this auspicious occasion of Vasant Panchami that we all dedicatedly devote ourselves to the selfless service of the Lord and his devotees; that we should develop a service attitude and make this human form of life worthy.