V.B.D. on TV

Even though I don't regularly blog anymore, I had to put this up. It's ISKCON's director of North American communications on CNN. He was representing ISKCON/Hare Krishna's on a panel discussion about Non-Christians celebrating Christmas. A bunch of us watched it together and rooted for him.

-Amul

On to Kurukshetra....

Haribol...day 2 in Vrindavan, and I'm already preparing to leave tommorrow. Tommorrow morning, Bhavin and I will most likely jump on a bus and head to Kurukshetra for Gita Jayanti. Over 5,000 years ago, lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield of Kurukshetra on Gita-Jayanti (Thursday). I'm also a big Mahabharata person, so I'm pretty excited to be going there, even though I am very sad to already be leaving Vrindavana. Otherwise, all is well here, and when we get back from Kurukshetra on Friday, I'll try and post about our visit, and public transportation in India...

Radhe Radhe

Chaitanya

Finally Arrived in Vrindavana....

I have finally arrived in Sri Vrindavana Dhama. I really don't have much to say since my post yesterday, and I haven't been able to do much today. After breakfast, Bhavin and I will go take darshans at some more temples, and then go to the one of the principle places in Vrindavana, Loi Bazaar. Since I don't have much to say, I'll just list some of the glories of the cold weather here in Vrindavana:

• Cold Cold Baths- they really do rock (I'm not being sarcastic). After the initial hyperventilating, you actually feel awesome.
• Cool for the morning program- Yes, it is chilly, and you have to wear a sweatshirt, but I guess I've always liked cold weather....and there's no way you'll fall asleep during japa.
• Prasadam- Unlike the summer when eating 1 chapatti will make you full, in the winter, you can really honor prasadam with all your glory....which is what Bhavin and I did last night at Dhenuka's....

That's all for now...Radhe Radhe...

Chaitanya

What Happened to Saturday?

Haribol.....After a nice stay in the Airport in Helsinki, it was a breezy 6.5 hour flight on to Delhi. Upon arrival, what was the first thing I noticed.....yea..you guessed it...the smell of India. Its like someone took a bottle of "New Car Smell", switched it with "India smell", and sprays it all over the jetway to greet new travelers. Otherwise it was smooth getting out of the airport, and we arrived here at my fathers god-brothers house at a modest 3AM. Here are some other miscallaneous travel notes:

• The plane I boarded to India had a big logo painted on it which said "FinnAir, the Official Airline of Santa Claus." It covered one whole side of the plane....just kind of amusing. (Apparently, Finnish people claim the Santa Claus came from Finland...read it in the airplane magazine.)
  
• What happened to Saturday... i left my house in New Jersey at 2:30 PM on Friday, and now its Sunday Morning, have you ever had that feeling before?
  
• Remember my post "Driving in Delhi" (I linked to it just in case)....well, I experienced it 2AM style...not so bad at all, our driver only ran 3-4 red lights. (I think at night in Delhi, all the lights are red for some reason...not really sure though)


• The weather rocks...the last time I was in Delhi, the heat and humidity was a painfully trying experience. This time, I stepped out of the airport to what felt like 50-55 degrees. For me, this weather is perfect. Of course, people in India don't agree. One of the traffic police was sporting the all-out ski mask, with gloves and a shawl. My dad said, "Looks like he's getting ready to go to war." The marble in all the buildings does make them a tad bit chilly, but I prefer this over the summer weather.
  

Anyways, in about 2 hours, I will hopefully make the last leg of my trip to Vrindavan, the drive on the Delhi - Agra highway. I am very very very excited, and I can't wait to get there. Since this is the last time I will have fast internet for a while, I will leave you with a picture of Krishna-Balaram, the main deities at the Krishna-Balaram Mandir in Vrindavan, who's darshan I will hopefully have this evening.

Radhe Radhe

Chaitanya

What Happened to Saturday?

Helsinki..

After a long painful layover in helsinki...mostly spent chanting japa and sleeping, I am about to board my flight to Dehli....almost there...

Radhe Radhe

Chaitanya

Ahhh...not enought time...

After arriving in New Jersey at 3AM last night and then entering into the mode of ignorance for a few hours (sleep), I woke up this morning to realize that I had to pack. So here I sit, at 1:30 PM, still not completely packed, when I have to leave for the airport at 2PM....I'd say this is the closest I've cut it. Since I've customarily been leaving pictures, I will today as well, but I don't have time to tell a story, in reality I should be nowhere near this computer right now. Here's a picture of a vrindavan monkey, who's association I shall be enjoying in a short while.


Catch you on the flip side....Jaya Jaya Sri Radhe

Chaitanya

PS- Get in touch with me while i'm in India by leaving comments, or writing me an email. I'm gonna try and stay off facebook.

24 Hours or so....

In about 24 hours or so, I should be in a FinnAir Jet bound for the holy dham of .....Helsinki? Well, I guess Helsinki's not a holy dham, but it is a stepping stone on the way to Vrindavan (or in my case a 6 hour layover). Yesterday I asked what deities I had posted a picture of, and yes, people correctly gave me the name of those deities, Sri Sri Radha Vraja-Mohan, the worshipful deities of Srila Narottama dasa Thakur. The story of these deities is awesome, but that's for another day (its really long, and I don't remember a lot of the important details).
Currently, I'm about 470 miles from New Jersey, which means I'll be spending a wonderful evening in my car, and I'll try and listen to the story of Sri Sri Radha Vraja-Mohan en-route...

I have posted a picture of the wonderful temple of Radha Madana Mohan. For those of you who have not been to Vrindavana, this temple is famous among ISKCON devotees for its presence on the back of the "I left my Heart in Vrindavana" t-shirts. The temple was built by a merchant who's salt vessel was stuck in the Yamuna, and who prayed to Madana-Mohan to free the vessel so he could sell his salt. Srila Madana-Mohan were first moved to Jaipur for safekeeping, and then later to Karoli, which is where Madana Mohan is today. I'll try and throw up one more post before leaving tommorrow.

Jaya Sri Radhe

Chaitanya

2 Days to Go.....

Hari Hari. As I sit here studying for an exam that I want absolutely no part of (when you think of it, is there ever an exam that you are ever excited for?), I remembered that I had not posted to the blog today. Amul suggested I let everyone know what I've been up to since coming back from India (Just about 1 year ago...time really flies). Well, I've been in college, slaving away and studying, but never forgetting about Vrindavana. Enough about me, and more about Vrindavana.
To the left I have posted a picture of deities in Vrindavana, the question is, what deities are they, are they one of the main deities of Sri Vrindavan Dham. I know, but I'll tell you tommorrow, until then, please leave your guesses in the comments section.

To the right I have posted a picture of Vamsivat, the first place Caitanya Mahaprabhu went when he visited Vrindavana. This is also where the original deity of Gopinath was found. Unfortunately Gopinath is no longer in Vrindavana, but Gopinath's temple can be found among the back streets of Jaipur. I almost forgot, Vamsivat is the place where the Maha Rasa-Lila took place on Sarad Purnima (which many of us know as the first day of Kartika). Thanks for checking in, and remember to leave some comments. Check back for a new post tommorrow. Radhe

Chaitanya

Welcome Back

Welcome Back to Vrindavan Days, the internet blog sensation that took the material world by storm back in the summer of 2006 when Amul and I took our 6 month trip to India. Alright, I may be worshiping my false ego, but since I had so much fun doing the blog back then, I've decided to fire the blog back up for my trip to India starting this Friday. To the left I have posted a picture of what I consider to be one of the most amazing temples in the world. At one time it was 7 stories high, and the home of the worshipable deity of Srila Rupa Goswami, Sri Sri Radha Govinda. Think about it, this temple was 7 stories high, i cannot even imagine this, because the temple is humongous in its modest state today. Look for daily posts before I take off on Friday.

Jaya Radhe....

Chaitanya

PS: Feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed. I know most of you don't know what the heck RSS is, here's a link from our good friends at Digital Trends, who tell you what RSS is, and how to use it if you want to.

Digital Trends - RSS

And here's another post from CNET (which I hope you've heard of)

CNET - RSS

Separation

Been feeling separation from Vrindavan lately. Something in the city always sparks my memory of Vraj, whether its a smell, sight, or just a thought. I am noticing how much an affect that place had on me. Thats my meditation during book distribution, to try to show people Vrindavan. Thats what Srila Prabhupada did. He showed everyone Vrindavan. He was staying at Radha Damodar and could have stayed there but he was so merciful to come to America. He wanted to show the fallen people of America, Vrindavan. I always find so much inspiration in that. Some things i miss in/about Vrindavan:
1. The smells, good and bad. I didnt like them then but i would do to smell flowers or vrindavan's dirt again!!!
2. Srila Prabhupada's samadhi, such a special place to sit and chant.
3. Vraj Mandal Parikrama, what an amazing experience.
4. Aindra's Kirtans, self explanatory.
5. Radha Kund, the most holy place.
6. Nitai Gaura, Radhe Syam, Krishna Balaram!
7. the goswami's temples, i didn't visit them enough.
8. My bhakti sastri class friends and jokes. they were the best!
9. Guru Puja at Krishna Balaram Mandir. Always so ecstatic!
10. Bhakti Sastri trips (Goverdhan, Varsana, etc.)

Anyways, book distribution has been good. Some days I do really well, and the next day i am puffed up and not many books go out. Its been up and down. I need to learn to be a good instrument in the hands of the acaryas and also be detached. Slowly but surely i am learning. Wish me luck. Sankirtan Yajna ki jay.

fallen servant,
amul

Pictures

hey check out pics from Bhaktivedanta Ashrama's Gaura Purnima Mangala Arati and Kirtan!


click the link below
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Here

Amul's book distribution score for 3.6.07:
3 Big books
3 Small books
total: $18

story: This one guy i saw from far away, he was an old white guy with hair like einstein all electrocuted looking...totally science looking guy. Something told me (paramatma) to stop this guy, so i followed him and stopped him and gave him my speech and showed him the books. He was interested and took the big book. I was amazed, i wouldve never stopped him otherwise, he looked totally weird! Srila Prabhupada ki jay!

Goosebumps Weekend

Went home and then to Towaco on sunday for the youth sunday feast cooking. It was really fun seeing everyone and doing some service with them again. I got to sing most of Gaura-Arati as well, that was sweet. Damodar and Nilamani prabhu did a presentation on the new temple plans. I can't wait to move from towaco and start in a new place, its going to be a lot of work but such an awesome service at the same time. Everyone working together to start a new temple..i get goosebumps just thinking about it. aight im out, later!

amul

Book Distribution

For some reason, i was inspired to do one-on-one book distribution yesterday. So instead of our bhajan book table, we did that. I stayed with Kerel for a long time, to see his technique. He's so amazing. He told me we have to first be their friend, and be genuinely nice. The way he talked and interacted with people was so sincere. And they would take the books real easy.

So as we were walking in the station we were distributing, he asked me to approach this one guy. This young black man, with a pizza in his hand and a bag slung over his shoulder. I approached him and said my line, "Excuse me are you from New York or out of town?". He replied he was from out of town. I told him we were monks and I had a book for him on yoga and meditation. He broke into a huge smile and with so much enthusiasm exclaimed that his friends were looking for this for the longest time. He grabbed the book and starting looking through it. I told him we ask for a donation for the book. He's like, "Oh yea! Definately." He gave me 5 bucks for the SSR (Science of self realization), and walked away, obviously really happy that he had found what he was looking for.

I was dumbfounded. Kerel was standing next to me, smiling. I didnt know what to say. I just distributed my first hard book (not ever) !!! I gave Kerel a big hug and i think he was embarrassed. HAHA!!!

The rest of the day was amazing. I always meditated on Srila Prabhupada and how i was only an instrument in his hands and the previous acaryas. I met so many nice people. I did a bunch of small books and 3 more hard books. For a total of 25 dollars. I've never done that much before,on one-on-one.

I always remember that Srila Prabhupada said that book distribution is the service that pleases him the most. I want to please Srila Prabhupada.

Sankirtan Yajna ki jay

Amul

Pics

Ghanasyam and Hrishikesh portraying Nrsimadev!

Group hug at Harinam's B-day party

Charlie brought Donut plant Donuts for Breakfast!

The senior devotees all blissed out

Dinner time

Nitai Guna Mani Amar!

dina hina patita pamara nahi bache
brahmar durlabha prema sabakare jace

Lord Nityananda freely offered this exalted prema,
which is difficult for Lord Brahma to attain,
even to the fallen and wretched souls who did not desire it.

Lord Nityananda gives out the holyname freely but only asks for faith. By staying here, in association with the devotees, my faith is slowly increasing. Faith is so key. We need to really have full faith in the process, or else we are in danger of falling back.

Lord Nityananda is so merciful, he forgave even Jagai and Madhai, who attacked him. When someone attacks us verbally or even physically, are we quick to forgive them? no.

Lord Nityananda is always intoxicated. In Towaco, His eyes are rolled upward in ecstacy! I have not had His darsan in a long time! The separation only makes it sweeter. Just like when i was in India, when i came back and had their darsan for the first time in 6 months, it was so sweet, it was like seeing old friends again. No but i am not a friend, i am their servant.

"Sri Gaurahari said: 'All glories to You, O son of Rohini! I am controlled by You. If anyone even once chants the name 'Nityananda' they will become purified and I will immediately accept that person as My own.'"

(Caitanya Mangala, Madhya-khanda, Chapter 6)

Jay Nitai Jay Nitai,

A.s.

A Devotee Acts Only for Purification

Today I gave morning Bhagavatam class, I was a trainwreck, so nervous. It was on SB 2.1.7. It talked about how the transcendentalists are above rules and regulations and how they are in bliss conversing on the topics about Krsna.

It's so funny that I've probably attended a million SB classes in my time, but i forgot the order of the prayers you say before you begin to speak, "om agyana timran dasya...". It made me feel more humble than ever

If you think that's scary, get this. HG Yajna Purusa prabhu was sitting right in the front, listening really attentively about what i was about to say. I had butterflies like ive never had before!

But i was pretty happy how the class went. I used alot of the knowledge i learned in Bhakti sastri. I talked about Vaidhi bhakti and Raganuga Bhakti. How the neophytes need rules and regulations and need the guru to show them. I also added some examples from my Vrindavan trip.

I always remember devotees saying that you just need to express what you know. If you try to sound too learned, you can make a mistake and people could call you out on it.

It was a great experience though, the bramhacharis were really supportive and liked the class, even though it had so many shortcomings Utlimately, it was for my own purification and so i could use the knowledge i got from VIHE. Govinda prabhu from Towaco told me, "Because if you dont use it, you'll lose it."

Jay Sri Radhe,

a.s.

my heros go out on "books"

No emotion on the faces of the subway goers,

 

"where are they going?"

 

"No where.", says Karel.

 

"Aren't we disturbing them?"

 

"No, cuz they are just walking in circles."  says Matthew.

 

"Just stop them, and the book will do the rest.", They both say in unison.

 

 

 

-It's hard for me, but Karel and Matthew have deep realization of what they are doing and why.  Srila Prabhupada's chest is swelling with pride.  They are so enthusiastic, they never feel scared, they are always bold. 

 

I want to be like just like them. 

 

-a.s.

 

 

 

 

 

The End.

haribol.

its weird opening up this blog thing and not being in india. anyways, we are back in america, and getting on with our lives. Chai is going to college at V-tech, and i am going back to school in the fall. I have alot of time in between then and now so im going to get back to work at BMW, stay at the ashram now and then, and try to imbibe the teachings ive learned into my life.

later!
amul