Thursday, March 31, 2011

Harinam Diksha Ceremonies held in Srila Prabhupada’s Temples

Vrindavan, Bangalore, Chennai, Mysore and Hubli, On March 19th 2011

It was a very emotional and historic day for all followers of Srila Prabhupada, as hundreds of them formally accepted him as their diksha guru. The formal diksha ceremony was held in Hare Krishna centres of Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli, Vrindavan and Chennai. The respective Presidents of the temples conducted the harinam diksha and second initiation ceremonies.
The ceremony consisted of each of the devotees taking an oath in front of Srila Prabhupada’s deities that they will follow the four regulative principles and chant at least sixteen rounds of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra daily. Following which each of them were given japa beads which were already chanted on by the GBC appointed rtviks and the temple presidents announced the initiated disciples’ names declaring to all present that these devotees were accepted formally as disciples of His Divine Grace.
This was followed by a Vaishnava homa, fire sacrifice which was performed by the devotees of temple with the respective presidents presiding over it. All devotees participated with great enthusiasm in the kirtan which followed the fire sacrifice. Kirtans in the temple were always ecstatic but todays’ kirtan was more ecstatic because of the fact that all of them had formally accepted the shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee.
One of the highlight of this time was that about 3 devotees from Russia, headed by Krishna Kirtan Prabhu, also formally took harinam diksha and accepted Srila Prabhupada as their spiritual master.

The ceremony was preceded by a short discourse given by each of the temple presidents, in which they explained the significance of the ceremony.
http://www.harekrishnablog.com/index.php/iskcon-for-you.html?start=66
Following is an excerpt of the address given by Sri Madhupandit dasa, President ISKCON Bangalore:
Today is a historic day for the followers of Srila Prabhupada. As we all know, after Srila Prabhupada’s physical departure, his direction on how initiation has to be conducted was not followed. As an institution at large, a new deviant system was followed, and is still being followed in the other ISKCON temples.
Only in 1998-99, we the devotees of ISKCON Bangalore became aware of the actual directions given by Srila Prabhupada in the form of an institutional directive of July 9th, 1977 where he had directed that he will still remain the diksha guru giving initiations with the eleven devotees he appointed acting as ritviks or representatives of the acaryas.
But in ISKCON at large, the eleven had started acting as diksha gurus without authorization by Srila Prabhupada. And since some of the eleven had fallen away from spiritual path, the GBCs had appointed several more diksha gurus, once again without authorization from Srila Prabhupada.
After we became aware of all these deviations, we asserted that we shall follow the directions of Srila Prabhupada in the matter of initiations and as you are all aware has led to litigations, and Srila Prabhupada has mercifully protected us all along.
There was yet another deviation that the ISKCON temples all over the world have become guilty of. Srila Prabhupada had given a written document in 1970 called the Direction of Management for the formation and functioning of the GBCs.
According to this document, the GBCs have to be for a period of three years and should be reelected once every three years by the body of Temple Presidents.  ISKCON has not been conducting the elections of the GBCs.
Considering all these, in the year 2008, the devotees of ISKCON Bangalore group, who had, by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, set up separate centers in India with about 17 Temple Presidents, conducted elections and appointed a ten member GBC for our group of devotees.
Further, a few months back, GBC body passed a resolution that the GBC body shall appoint the rtviks for the purpose of performing initiations.
This important resolution for appointment of rtviks was also ratified by all the devotees in the temples through a referendum.
The GBC body has passed a resolution recently that all the current members of GBC will act as the Ritviks. And to avoid any misunderstanding or creation of incorrect trends in the community of devotees, it has also been decided that even though every word of July 9th directive is followed in letter and spirit in initiating devotees, the particular ritvik for a particular devotee being initiated shall not be disclosed.
All the devotees must understand that Srila Prabhupada is their diksha guru and they should serve his mission through the institutional arrangement of temples, temple devotees, Temple President and GBCs.
All the devotees present here today for the Initiation ceremony, on this auspicious day of Gaura Purnima 2011, have been recommended by the respective Temple Presidents and they are taking eternal shelter of Srila Prabhupada as his disciple agreeing to chant 16 rounds everyday and follow four regulative principles.
Praying for Srila Prabhupada’s mercy to give us protection and guidance to conduct his sacred mission, let us conduct today’s initiation for the first time in the history of ISKCON, according to Srila Prabhupada’s own direction given in the July 9th 1977 directive.
Each of the devotees taking the diksha took an oath as given below:
Dear Srila Prabupada,
Please give me eternal shelter at your lotus feet and accept me as your disciple.
1.    I agree to chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Maha-mantra everyday throughout my life.
2.    I agree to follow 4 regulative principles throughout my life. The 4 regulative principles are
a.    No meat eating
b.    No intoxication
c.    No gambling
d.   No illicit sex.

Sattvic dining in style- ISKCON BANGALORE


How about tucking into an eggless caramel cake? Or savouring Bukhare ki dal made without onions and garlic? The Higher Taste, a fine-dining restaurant at the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple, Bangalore, offers nearly 100 such dishes that attract a steady stream of hard-to-please food connoisseurs, pilgrims and tourists across nationalities.
This kind of cooking is described as one that adheres to ‘Sattvic' principles. “The concept of Sattvic food dwells on Lord Krishna's message in the Bhagwad Gita. It is a combination of natural ingredients like grains, vegetables and milk, which nourish the soul and body. It goes beyond vegetarianism. As the masalas are basic and freshly ground, there's a feel-good factor and one doesn't feel heavy at the end of the meal,” explains Chitranga Chaitanya Das, head of the temple's Prasadam department.
With the tagline God's Own Cuisine, the restaurant, which turned one last month, is set to open a branch in south Bangalore following popular demand from foodies. Though still in its infancy, Higher Taste has contributed 20 per cent to the overall sales of the temple's food counters.
A unique feature of this fine-dining restaurant is its location inside a temple complex, which is both uncommon and unconventional.
After the ISKCON temple was established in Bangalore in 1997, a bakery and cafeteria sprung up on the premises that sold south Indian staples like lemon rice, puliyogere and dosas to devotees. With time, exotic namkeens and mithai were added to the offerings. 
Meanwhile, the temple's core team felt the need for an exclusive platform to showcase the gastronomic expertise that is one of the hallmarks of the ISKCON movement. “Swami Prabhupada, our founder, felt that eating prasadam is part of the spiritual process and the teachings of Lord Krishna in the Bhagwad Gita highlight the significance of offering food to the God, which is why Prabhupada referred to it as Kitchen Religion,” says Das.
This was the indicative guideline for the three-member R&D team that was constituted to design a menu that would serve as comfort food, with subtle aromas bursting in the mouth. The team innovated and experimented with food ideas. Instead of hiring kitchen talent from overseas, the core team looked at designing international dishes with a desi twist. The idea was to distil the essence of Sattvic food while falling back on world cuisine. The platter was filled with Mexican, Greek and Mediterranean delicacies adapted to Vaishnava style of cooking and suited to Sattvic taste buds. For instance, flaxseeds were substituted for eggs while baking fluffy muffins.
Likewise, bruschettas and thin-crust pizzas evolved as signature dishes. The buffet spread includes pastas, Chinese noodles and other varieties of world cuisine. Desi temptations from south and north India constitute the a la carte offerings. The Hyderabadi biryani is garnished with cabbage carrying a hint of asafoetida. According to Das, the flavour mimics onion. Original recipes have been tweaked to add a surprising lip-smacking factor, such as the bharwan Jodhpuri or arisi paruppu saatham or even the paan ice-cream.
Their task was made easier by the fact that similar experiments were already on at ISKCON's fine-dining restaurant Govindas in the US. “Though the vision is similar, for the first time the menu is categorised as Sattvic food and is being promoted in ISKCON. For a wider appeal, the flagship brand was visualised as The Higher Taste,” says Das.
The 100-seater restaurant at the Bangalore temple is open for lunch and dinner. Holy chants in the background and the gentle murmur of a water body add to the restaurant's overall ambience.
The F&B team comes up with eclectic dining options ranging from a Rajasthani food festival to Christmas goodies. Food lovers can also look forward to a sit-down meal during such special occasions.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Iskcon Desire Tree website is not for the real devotees of Srila Prabhupada




ISKCON Desire Tree website which says "Connecting Devotees Worldwide - In Service Of Srila Prabhupada" is not really doing any Service Of Srila Prabhupada. i have some of the evidence to share with you which is surely a fact. the ISKCON Desire Tree claims that its a FREE independent voluntary website engaged in service of ISKCON but when some discussions about guru system arises the next minute you get an Email saying "YOU HAVE BEEN BANNED". The website says that "The content is generated by volunteers from all around the world" and all those volunteers are under the influence of some gurus.


I was just banned from the website receiving a mail which says

fromAnirudh Shetty <idtsevaka@gmail.com>
to@gmail.com


dateWed, Mar 30, 2011 at 10:04 AM
subjectHare Krishna




Hare Krishna,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
With great regret I have to inform you that we have had to disbar your profile from the ISKCON Desire Tree Network.  As per the official policy, we had to take this action because quite a few members complained against your profile, as they found certain content objectionable.
This does not bar you from participating in the website. Our service is just a small network for devotees to interact, and hence we have to be sensitive to their needs.
But you can continue to interact with us through mail, and many of the sections of the website is still open to you. You can hear lectures, see pictures & videos and access many of the other sections.
We encourage you to please access these facilities and help us to continue serving you that way.
Thank You.
In your service,
Anirudh

Is this mail not rude on your part, see we are devotees and yes, we are preaching about the false iskcon gurus just to realise them and take them towards the real genuine guru srila prabhupada. if the website is developed for the Service Of Srila Prabhupada then they would have had some healthy discussion with me about the issue, but they banned me. 

The first thing what i was surprised was when i was joining the site, see the procedures below





if you are done filling this form and post something about guru issue then the next second you'll get this window


So i think people are misusing Srila Prabhupada's name, i hope people working in Iskcon Desire Tree website should wake up
I just hope

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Reply to Sivarama Swami’s Podcast of 15th December, 2010


The following is a response to the above Podcast from His Holiness Sivarama Swami (SRS), and as usual statements from SRS shall be enclosed in tinted panels, with our comments following underneath:

“In terms of practical application, then Srila Prabhhupada points out that in Upadesamrta that someone who’s not an uttama adhikhari, he’s not so good in giving practical guidance because he hasn’t fully realized the teachings that he may know, but he doesn’t have full realization of them. But that still doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be followed.”
In the portion of the Upadesamrta SRS refers to here, this is what Srila Prabhupada actually states:
“Indeed, the advanced uttama-adhikari Vaisnava devotee should be accepted as a spiritual master. […] One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikari. A neophyte Vaisnava or a Vaisnava situated on the intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very well toward the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance. Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari as a spiritual master.
(Upadesamrta – The Nectar of Instruction, Text 5, purport)


Srila Prabhupada is not advising us to follow Kanisthas. On the contrary, because they offer insufficient guidance, Srila Prabhupada tells us to be careful to instead accept an Uttama-Adhikari as a spiritual master.


“And this is what Srila Prabhupada emphasizes everywhere throughout his books, the importance of following the spiritual master, because when you’re followingĂ‚ a bona fide spiritual master at whatever his level of spiritual advancement, then you’re following Krishna. And if you’re following Krishna, then you’re going to go back home, back to Godhead.”
In his books, Srila Prabhupada does not state that following anyone, “whatever his level of spiritual advancement”, will lead one to go back to Godhead. Rather, in his books, Srila Prabhupada states the opposite, that the guru must be at least liberated to take us back to Godhead:
“A conditioned soul cannot deliver another conditioned soul. Only Krishna or His bona fide representative can deliver him.
(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 9)


“Then there is the conditioned soul, spiritual master who is not situated in the same platform, but because he’s representing Krishna, because he’s following the principle of the guru parampara, therefore he also acts in the capacity of spiritual master. And he may be a madhyama-adhikari, a kanistha-adhikari, a uttama adhikari.”

Though SRS states here that the spiritual master may be a conditioned soul, Srila Prabhupada states the opposite:
“Because one who has understood Krishna in truth, he is liberated person. Therefore he is guru. Guru cannot be a conditioned soul. Guru must be liberated. Because without complete knowledge of Krishna, without being free from the contamination of the three modes of material nature… One cannot understand Krishna on account of his being engrossed with these three material modes of nature.”
(Lecture, 16/2/71)


“Once we accept a spiritual master – you have lots of time to decide who you want to accept – once you accept, you’re accepting someone who you’re going to follow. And if you’re following a fully liberated soul, then you can be assured that the guidance that he gives you will be fully realized and will be faultless. If you’re following a conditioned soul, then you still need to follow and you need to then have faith in the fact that, yoga-ksemam vahamy aham. That Krishna will then carry what you lack. If you need something further in that regard, then Krishna will make the suitable arrangement. But follow we must, because that’s the essential basic principle of Krishna consciousness. Pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya, upadeksyanti te jnana.
SRS claims that one must follow a conditioned soul as a spiritual master, even though he is not offering “fully realised and faultless” guidance, due to two 2 reasons:
1) That Krishna will make up for the lack in qualification of the spiritual master, and this is stated by Bhagavada Gita 9:22 – “yoga-ksemam vahamy aham”. However, this verse, nor its purport, make any reference to the fact that one may accept an unqualified spiritual master.
2) Because this is the basic principle of Krishna consciousness, and this is stated by Bhagavada Gita, 4:34 – “Pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya, upadeksyanti te jnana”. However this verse states the opposite, since it speaks specifically of following the self-realised spiritual master, rather than SRS’s non-realised spiritual master, who is not “fully realised and faultless”:
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.”
(BG, 4:34)
Conclusion
As has been documented in detail on this website, SRS continues non-stop to spout his own “teachings”, which are not only never mentioned by Srila Prabhupada, but often are the exact opposite of what Srila Prabhupada teaches. Again and again he demonstrates that he does not have a grasp of even Srila Prabhupada’s most basic teachings.

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