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The Divine Raas Yatra: Lord Balram’s Enchanting Journey on the Banks of Yamuna

The Divine Raas Yatra: Lord Balram’s Enchanting Journey on the Banks of Yamuna

by | Apr 22, 2024 | General, Spirituality

Lord Balaram’s Raas Yatra is described in Shrimad Bhagvatam and is also described in Garga Samhita.

Duryodhan is hearing the glory of Balram ji from his guru. Duryodhana asked his guru, O most intelligent Lord Balram, when he had wandered on the banks of Yamuna with the Nagakanya Gopis.

It is very important to clarify here that Balram ji’s gopis are different, and he is Nagkanya gopis, and Lord Shri Krishna’s gopis are different.

Then, in answer to Duryodhana’s question, the sage said that once in the heart of Balram ji, there was a strong desire to see his brothers and relatives of Braj. He left Dwarka riding on his Taladhwaja chariot and reached Vrindavan, full of cows and cowherds.

Nand Baba and Yashoda Maiya were also eager to see him. And as soon as she saw Balram Ji, she hugged him. Balram Ji met everyone and stayed there for the entire 2 months of spring. These are the two months of Chaitra and Vaishakh, and Chaitra Purnima is exactly in the middle of spring.

Earlier, the Nagkanya girls, who were mentioned to be Gopis, obtained Balram’s almanack from Gargacharya ji and proved it to get him as their husband, and due to its influence, Balram ji became happy and settled in Raas Mandal on the banks of the river Kalindi.

Balaram Ji played Raas with those Gopis. That day was the full moon of Chaitra. That day, the full moon of Arun colour was rising and colouring the entire forest with its colourful rays. The cool wind was blowing slowly everywhere, carrying the nectar and pollen of the lotus.

The blissful Yamuna was enveloping the clean shore with its playful waves. The courtyard land of Kunjo was adorned with various Nikunjos and was moistened with the pollen of shining, beautiful leaves and flowers.

Peacocks and cuckoos were cooing melodiously and this land adorned with the sweet sound of honeybees was looking very beautiful. The sweet sound of the anklets was being heard at the feet of Balram ji. They were adorned with bracelets, girdles, hands, crowns, and earrings made of shining gems. His face was covered with lotus flowers, he was wearing Nilambar, i.e., blue clothes, and his eyes were like lotus flowers.

In this way, Balram ji was seated in the Rasamandal, surrounded by Gopis, and the entire forest was becoming fragrant with the fragrant Varuni sent by Varun.

Madhukar started humming beautifully among the people of Madhu, and then Balramji, who had a gait like Airavat and arms as huge as the trunk of an elephant, started playing with the Gopis. He had a plough on his lion-like shoulders and a pestle in his hands. Then, while playing sports on the banks of Yamuna Ji, particles of sweat started shining on his head, so he called Yamuna ji from a distance to take bath and do water sports. But she did not come. Then Balram ji got angry and pulled Yamuna ji with the tip of the plough and said that today I called you, but you did not come by insulting me, you are going to behave arbitrarily. Right now, I will break you into a hundred pieces with this pestle.

Then, on being scolded by Balram ji in this way, Yamuna ji got extremely scared and fell at the feet of Balram ji and said, O Lokabhiram Balram, O Sankarshana, O Balbhadra, O great-armed one, I did not know of your immense strength and bravery, the entire earth is on your head. Mustard stuff is lying around. I am unaware of your ultimate influence. I have come to you for refuge. Leave me alone.

On praying like this, Balram ji left Yamuna ji and then started playing in the Yamuna water with the Gopis. After playing in the water, when he came out of Yamuna ji, Yamuna ji gave him many blue clothes and jewellery made of gold gems.

O Duryodhana, Balram ji distributed all those ornaments among different Gopis, and wearing a necklace made of blue sapphire and new gold gems, he sat like Airavata.

This is how Balram, the best of the Yadavas, spent the spring nights. Even today, Yamuna ji flows through a crooked path and indicates her power. That place is Ramghat, from where the path of Yamuna ji becomes crooked, and the person who listens to or narrates this incident of Lord Balram ji’s Raslila is free from all sins. After this, he attains a state of supreme bliss.

Your Smallest act of Charity can make a difference and bring smiles to Needy Faces.

How Hare Krishna Movement Spread to the World

How Hare Krishna Movement Spread to the World

by | Sep 25, 2021 | General, Spirituality

According to Vedic tithi, Srila Prabhupada landed in America after a 37 days long, tiring journey. He went there by a cargo ship named “Jaladuta”. According to the English calendar, 17th September 1965 is an unforgettable historic day, when Krishna bhakti or Krishna consciousness revolution (Hare Krishna Movement) erupted in the entire world. On this day, Srila Prabhupada resolute the devotional service of Krishna in the heart of American People on his spiritual master’s order.

Srila Prabhupada’s Journey To America

Srila Prabhupada vocalized that everyone wishes to go to London in general, but I planned to go to America instead. I used to think about how to go to New York. I always make new strategies thinking about how can I reach there and what should I do about it. So many questions arise in my mind, such as is going through the Tokyo route fine? Going through which way will cost less? I always used to think about all this. I always had an aim to go to New York.

How He Planned His Journey

Nearly at the age of 70s, a septuagenarian started printing books, prepared passports and kept many other documents ready, which are compulsory for the set foot in America. For doing all this, he struggled a lot but never stopped preferment of Krishna Bhakti. Even because of his increasing age, he faced many health issues, but these hurdles could not distract him from his aim.

How Sumati Morarjee Agreed:

The mistress of Scindia shipping company Sumati Morarji has not accepted Srila Prabhupada’s obsecration. She even tried to dishearten him for going to America. But Srila Prabhupada was highly undeterred. So, in the end, Sumati Morarji was constrained to send Srila Prabhupada to one of her cargo ships.

Hurdles Faced In Ship

In that unprecedented journey, envoy Srila Prabhupada in a ship named Jaladuta was travelling to promote Krishna bhakti among the people of America. Despite having suffered two heart attacks during his journey of panic and dizziness, Srila Prabhupada still depended on Lord Krishna to follow the Guru’s instructions. After 15 days of an agonizing journey, the seafarers were startled to see the Atlantic ocean that much calm.

Seafarers Statement About Miracle

They said that they were feeling as the rein of the ship was in Lord Krishna’s hand. In a conversation, Srila Prabhupada said that he was all alone. No one in my family was with me. But I felt that Lord Krishna was with me. On the day he stepped into the land of America, he wrote about Markine Bhagavata Dharma, a poem on the preaching of Bhagavad Dharma. In this poem, he wrote about the conversation to Lord Krishna about everything in the heart of Srila Prabhupada and pleaded for his blessings.

Summary Of The Poem 

He wrote: Hey Lord,

You are so kind to this tiny person. I don’t know why you brought me to this materialistic world. So you can do whatever you wish with me. Here most of the people are indulged in rajasik and tamsik work. But I know you are a great magician or if you want you can do anything.

Srila Prabhupada’s Entreaty

Hey Lord!  

I can just repeat your words, and if you want, you can manipulate my words and make them understanding. With your grace, my words will get sacred and will be perforating. I am just a puppet of your hand. However, you want me to dance, just make me dance too. I don’t have little Bhakti and Gyan. But I will entirely rely on your holy names. I got the title of Bhaktivedanta, and if you want, you can make this name accurate.

Srila Prabhupada Ji’s Appearance

As a miserable beggar as a native of Vrindavan covering by gone shawl in body, wearing ordinary sleepers, tilak at the forehead, kanthi mala in the neck and taking Japa mala in hand. Vaishnava Sanyasi came to New York for the first time.

Reaction of People

People of New York unnoticed this ordinary-looking sanyasi. They were unaware that this person came to relieve them from an essential part of our life: the life and death cycle. He has the priceless treasure of Krishna Bhakti which is the ultimate treasure of life.

How Srila Prabhupada Cope in America

Srila Prabhupada said that when he reached America, he had 4 Dollars only. When he insisted captain of the ship Shriman Pandya to purchase one set of Srimad Bhagavatam, he asked how much it cost, Srila Prabhupada answered 16 dollars. Sriman Pandya gave him 20 dollars instead of 16, which is the only thing other than books he was having along with him.

Result of Prabhupada’s Journey

Srila Prabhupada’s journey to America is exhilarating. After reaching there, the intensity of the publicity of Krishna Bhakti increased.

What Should We Comprehend

Each moment of the founder of the ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada’s life is dedicated to his spiritual master and Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. And this is the ultimate reason that he was successful in bringing the revolution of bhakti. So we all should admire him and learn the lesson of extreme dedication, devotion and sacrifice.

Your Smallest act of Charity can make a difference and bring smiles to Needy Faces.

How to overcome from Anger

How to overcome from Anger

by | Aug 13, 2021 | Spirituality

OVERCOMING ANGER

Six impurities in our consciousness keep us away from Krishna, and anger is one of the most prominent ones. Now, who in this world is entirely free from irritation. Yet, most of us face this emotion, and we fail to understand where to use it and how to use it.

There is a very famous philosopher who said that anger is one letter short of danger. So if you want to avoid trouble in your life. We have to ensure that we don’t get angry, and even if we do, there is a way we control or overcome it.
We find even according to the world’s survey. There are so many broken relationships because of words that are said or pronounced when somebody is angry. So we have to be very calm and composed if we aspire to be on the spiritual path.

Example:
When we sit on the banks or the side of a pond, we should see ripples immediately on the surface; as soon as there are ripples on the surface, you don’t see the fishes anymore. You see the waves now. What is the way to see the fishes well, sit on the banks for some time? Let the water settle. As it determines, you will find that the ripples go away, and now you see the fish as it is.

This example is very relevant in this context. Pebbles are like circumstances in our life; they are thrown by people into the water, the pond of our consciousness and immediately. There are ripples of agitation. As soon as there are ripples of fever, you don’t see the fishes, which means you don’t see the things as they are. When there are ripples, and you try to catch the fish, you don’t see them. However, they exist, so you don’t see them as similar when somebody throws provocative pebbles into the surface of our consciousness. They are ripples of agitation, frustration, irritation and anger.

Way to overcoming negative emotions:

The best way to do is stay calm. Hold your breath, try to count 1 to 30 or something like that as the yoga teacher explains and chant God’s holy names. The names of Sri Krishna are so powerful that they help us overcome all the negative emotions we have on our own. We can not overcome them, but when we surrender to names, forms, qualities and pastimes of Sri Krishna, we can overcome them, so when we are calm and composed, we take shelter of Krishna. The ripples of agitation settle, and then you can see the fishes as they are.

One practical suggestion that we could share is that whenever we find agitation in our life. The best is to stay calm and not react at that moment. Take your time. Stay aloof if that isolate yourself if that helps you. Think about it in a very balanced, unbiased way. Not the fact that I am always right but being humble enough to see the other person’s perspective also so when we try doing that, we often see that the fault is ours. So then there is no need of being angry.

We are angry when we are defensive when we want to smash somebody. Still, a devotee is so humble that he wants to see the good in others and improve the drawbacks in the self, so on that note, we have to be very careful before we blast anyone through thought word.

Example of a Firefall:

What is the first that happens? As soon as you pick a ball of fire intending to throw at somebody. The first thing that happens is we end up burning our hands before burning the other. So, therefore, anger is such a negative wipe or a negative feeling that it causes more destruction to the self than to the person with whom its intended tools.

Even in medical science, we understand that there are so many burnt and destroyed cells when angry. So we must be cautious that this emotion, if it’s there in us that would probably hinder our path on pure bhakti, so let us chant the names of Krishna and serve the vaisnavas who are elevated to us because if we do that, then all the negative emotions are very nicely converted into positive emotions. So hence, another question in connection to this is that.

Is it good for devotees to get angry?

A devotee who cited this example of Hanuman said that burnt Lanka, being a pure devotee, can burn things and destroy everything by shooting bullets. So everywhere, we must understand that Hanuman is an empowered personality if Hanuman could burn Lanka. He could also lift the mountain, so we must be humble and know that we don’t have to get into all this.

If we find somebody blaspheming Sri Krishna or our revered spiritual master, we deal diplomatically with those envious. We avoid them altogether. Suppose there is cursing, and you know that even if you reply based on sastra, they are not ready to listen. In that case, they will listen to what they want to hear. Then to such people, you serve by staying away because you know that even if you reply or answer their so-called allegations, they will still hold the same negative emotion, so why waste our time.

Those who curse, but you find a tinge of sincerity in them in the sense that they blaspheme based on whatever they hear. Still, they are not sure what is suitable for such people. So we have not to be very humble and say yes, you blaspheme Krishna That’s okay at that point. Like a soldier, we stand on that point, and then we tell that person based on gurus, sadhu and sastra. We explained to them nicely all the weak points in the argument and how they could be counted using the sastra.

However, a devotee never acts of his own will. He will never go and slap people. Never become a terrorist. Those who are based on religion or based on spiritual faith. They try killing people. They try to cause harm. I’m afraid that’s not right. This is not at all prescribed, or this is not advised in the Vedic scriptures, so the way a devotee retaliates to blaspheme to Guru and Krishna is based on time, place and circumstances.

Suppose somebody is faithful or a little sincere and cursed. In that case, you tolerate for the moment and then shoot back through the form of scriptural arguments and if there is somebody who’s envious and very much determined to their narrow-minded fault-finding mentality and we just bowed. So we say Hare Krishna and save our time.

Your Smallest act of Charity can make a difference and bring smiles to Needy Faces.

Is Krishna the only God?

Is Krishna the only God?

by | Jun 30, 2021 | Spirituality

We are all persons, and if God is also a person, as we understand from Vedic literature, then what is so special about Him that He should be considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

And why should Krishna alone and not anyone else be considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

Brahma, who consider the secondary creator of material existence in the Brahma Samhita chapter 5 text 1, states

ishvarah paramah Krishna
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaha
anadir adir govindaha
Sarva-Karana-karanam

Brahma says that of all the controllers ishvarah param, the topmost controller is Krishna. Krishna is the top controller because sac-cid-ananda-vigraha has a form of eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, and he is beginningless (anadir). So there is never a point when Krishna doesn’t exist. And adir govindaha He is the first ancient Lord. Most important is Sarva-karma-karanam cause of all causes. He is the origin of all origins. He is the creator of all creators. He is Lord and master of all Lords. So this is Brahma’s wording. Let us see what other controllers say.

Lord Shiva in Padam Purana states:

aradhananam sarvesam visnor aradhanam param

Of all the worships, of all the sacrifices visnor aradhanam param the worship of Sri Krishna or Sri Vishnu is topmost. 

Brahma says Krishna is topmost, and Shiva says Visnu is topmost. What is Krishna say to this? He says in Bhagavad-Gita that I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the 7th Chapter:

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

mattah parataram nanyat “O Arjuna please understand that I am the absolute truth. No one is equal or greater than Me.” Mayi sarvam idam protam sutra mani-Gana iva, and He is giving an example also, “I am like a thread on which the different pearls are strung.” Like a necklace, you find the pearls are strung, but the essential thing that keeps the pearls together is the thread, and the yarn is not seen. It’s invisible. So similarly, the glittering pearls of this material world are strung together by that invisible thread, and an essential backbone is Sri Krishna.

So Brahma says Krishna is God, Shiva says Krishna is God and Krishna says I am God. What is Arjuna says? Arjuna says in Bhagvad-Gita 10.12-13,

paraḿ brahma paraḿ dhāma
pavitraḿ paramaḿ bhavān
puruṣaḿ śāśvataḿ divyam
ādi-devam ajaḿ vibhum

āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve
devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ
svayaḿ caiva bravīṣi me

Arjuna says param brahma, You are the topmost being. Param dhama, You are the supreme abode. Pavitram, You are the purest personality. 

Paramam bhavan purusam sasvatam divyam
You are eternal and transcendental and 

adi devam
You are the first living entity and 

ajam one without birth, one without origin. And then He says devarsir naradas tatha asito devalo vyasah svayam caiva bravisi me, All these great personality confirms that You are the topmost.

Even Indra and Brahma in the Srimad-Bhagavatam after the Goverdhan Lila and Brahma Vimohan Lila respectively glorify Sri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.  

Suta Gosvami in the Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.1 says 

Yam brahma varunendra-rudra-marutah stunvanti divyaih stavair
Vedaih sanga-pada-kramopanisadair gayanti yam sama-gah
Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yogino 
Yasyantam na viduh surasura-gana devaya tasmai namah 

He describes Krishna as follows-Yam, Brahma, Indra, Varun, Rudra, Maruta. All these prominent demigods bow down before Sri Krishna. All the Upanishad and the verses of Samaveda sing the glories of Sri Krishna. All the yogis and jnanis sit and contemplating meditation for yugas, and in the core of their hearts, they find Sri Krishna as the Supreme Personality. And this Supreme Personality Sri Krishna yasyantam na viduh whose beginning, middle and end can not be understood by sura or asura either demigod or demons that Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. I bow down.

Finally, Sukadev Goswami in Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.28 describes

ete camsa-kalah pumsah krishnas tu bhagavan svayam
indras vyakulam lokam mrdayanti yuge yuge

After describing all the different avatars, the incarnation, the expansons and the plenary portions, Srila Sukadev Gosvami says O Maharaj Parikshit. Of all these expansions and all these forms, please note Krishnas tu Bhagavan svayam. Krishna is the original personality of Godhead.

Even the great authority Parashar Muni, the father of Vyasadeva, describes in Visnu Purana 6.5.47 the definition of God:

aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah
nana-vairagyayos caiva sannam bhaga itingana

God is He who has six opulence in full. What are the six opulence are full of beauty– Krishna is most beautiful; strongest- He smashed all the demons in Krishna Lila; most famous- even today Krishna’s pastimes, even the stealing of butter is sung all over the world;  wealthiest- everything belongs to Krishna; knowledgable- He knows everything because he created everything. He spoke Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna; most renounced- Krishna took the chariot driver of Arjuna. Krishna possesses all these six opulence in an unparallel and unequal way.

Therefore Krishna called Asamaurdhva, which means no one is equal to Him and no one is greater. So, in conclusion, of all these sastric references, we understand how Sri Krishna is the only Supreme Personality of Godhead. 

Your Smallest act of Charity can make a difference and bring smiles to Needy Faces.