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Sri Sri Radha RasabiharijiTEMPLEMONTHLY

Founder - acharya of the international society for krishna consciousness

december, 2011 newsletter of iskcon - juhu,Mumbai Vol. 1 Issue 7

Dedicated to his divine grace a.c. bhaktivedanta swami srila prabhupada

“Our only request is that if you want happiness, if you want to prosper, make your

life successful, you must read Bhagavad-gita As It Is, as Krishna says. Don’t try to

misinterpret.”

Srila Prabhupada(Bombay, 2 April 1974)

Srila Prabhupada on Book Distribution:Be assured that there is no more direct way to preach than to distribute Krishna conscious books. Whoever gets a book is benefitted. If he reads the book he is benefitted still more, or if he gives the book to someone else for reading, both he and the other person is benefitted. even if one does not read the book but simply holds it and sees it, he is benefitted. If he simply gives small donation towards the work of Krishna consciousness he is benefitted. And anyone who distributes these transcendental literature, he is also benefitted, therefore sankirtan is the prime benediction for the age. - Srila Prabhupada (Excerpts from a letter to German disciples, 06 May, 1977)

From the publisher’s desk:We are happy to be stepping into the seventh issue of our newsletter. It has been an encouraging last six months and we hope that you will continue to support us. Gita Jayanti in December is the day when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. He gave him the knowledge that benefitted not only him but also the whole of mankind. We are also entangled in this material world and can hope to be delivered from it if we take to this ‘Song of the Lord’. Over the ages, this knowledge was either lost or contorted. Srila Prabhupada presented to the world the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, as spoken by the Lord Himself. Srila Prabhupada was instrumental in presenting this treasure of Krishna Consciousness to the entire world. He constantly reiterated the importance of book distribution; publishing and distributing Krishna Conscious literature was Srila Prabhupada’s life and soul. Thus, in this month, which marks the day when the Lord spoke the Bhagavad-gita, the devotees will participate in the book distribution marathon where millions of books will be available for general public on a heavily discounted rate. On the occasion of Gita Jayanti this year, our temple will distribute the Bhagavad-gita As It Is to all the 24 jails in Gujarat State. You can contribute too - Gift books to yourself, your family, and friends or donate! We would like extend this invitation to all our reader to be a part of this book marathon. You can pick your copy from the temple or any of the railway stations across the city where our volunteers have put up special stalls for your convenience. Come forward and spread the message of the Lord. Hare Krishna.

•Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur disappearance - 14 Dec ; Fasting till noon; Pushpanjali at 12:20 p.m. followed by Prasada

•Book Distribution Marathon - All of December; For participation in various ways & details please contact: Padmalochan Das at 26204799 and Gokuleshwar Das at 9987786412 or email gokuleshwar@gmail.com

Dec 2011Upcoming Events

Sanskrit Word of the Month:Brahmajyoti : - The spiritual effulgence emanating from the transcendental body of Lord Krishna and illuminating the spiritual world.

Marathon Message for Book Distributors:

Chant: HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HAREHARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE &Be Happy!

Srila Prabhupada’s Guru Maharaja was very fond of books and instructed him to publish and distribute Krishna Conscious literature. Srila Prabhupada made this his life’s mission and emphasized to all his followers to try to distribute his books. Therefore, it is a very personal instruction to all of us to help us make advancement in the ultimate goal of loving Krishna. By Book Distribution, we are reaching out to people and reminding them of Krishna, to take to Krishna Consciousness and encourage them to engage in Krishna’s service and begin their spiritual life. Even if a person comes in contact with a devotee for a moment, and Srila Prabhupada states that if they get this transcendental literature and give a donation for that, then

their material life is mortally wounded. So, try and offer this opportunity to the people to awaken their dormant love for the Lord. Plus you can make quick advancement in spiritual life and get recognized by Lord Chaitanya, which is the ultimate goal of

spiritual life.Go out and request people to take books and this will purify us. At the same time we should also read these books. Srila Prabhupada also said that these books are not just for selling but also reading. So, distribute, read and follow - this is the perfect formula.

By Bhima Dasa, ISKCON & BBT Trustee

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11Vaisnava Calendar: December, 2011

06 Tuesday• Fasting for Mokshada Ekadasi• Advent of Srimad Bhagavad-gita

07 Wednesday• Break fast - 06:58 am - 10:39 am

10 Saturday• Katyayani Vrata ends

14 Wednesday• Srila Bhaktisiddhantha Saraswati

Thakur disappearance - fasting till noon

17 Saturday• Dhanus Sankranti (Sun enters

Sagittarius)

21 Wednesday• Fasting for Saphala Ekadasi• Srila Devananda Pandit

disappearance

22 Thursday• Break fast - 07:07 am - 07:26 am

23 Friday• Srila Mahesa Pandit disappearance • Srila Uddharana Datta

disappearance

25 Sunday• Srila Locana Das Thakur appearance

27 Tuesday• Srila Jiva Goswami disappearance• Srila Jagadisa Pandit disappearance

From the office of ISKCON Communications (Sri Sri Radha Rasabihariji Temple ) For feedback write to us at: SSRRmonthly@gmail.com

Other Events:

ISKCON Juhu,Hare Krishna Land,

Juhu, Mumbai- 400049For more news & live darshan log on

to:www.iskconmumbai.com

Gaura Kishora Das Babaji (1838 - 1915) a highly revered Gaudiya Vaishnava saint, famous for his teachings on the process of Bhakti Yoga, was born on 17 November 1838 in a well-to-do mercantile family in the village of Vagyana, district of Faridpur, now a part of modern day Bangladesh. After the death of his wife when he was thirty years old, he accepted the life of a Babaji under the tutelage of Jagannatha Das Babaji, after meeting the latter's disciple, Bhagavat Das Babaji. He became a mendicant, staying in the holy cities of Vrindavan and Navadwip, deeply absorbed in singing and chanting the sacred names of Radha and Krishna (Bhajan).

His life was an example of utter humility and poverty, never accepting any material object from anyone, the true attributes of a Vaishnava.  He was always absorbed in chanting the Holy names of

the Lord, and had no care for his body or for anything material but just hari-nama.

Although Gaura Kishora Das Babaji was hardly educated or literate, learned scholars and public servants would approach him with their questions on Srimad-Bhagvatam and other shastras, and with his realized knowledge he would answer their questions to their full satisfaction. And sometimes devotees would read various scriptures for him, and he would comment on them from his deep spiritual realization. Still, out of his great humility Gaura Kishora Das Babaji refused to accept any disciples, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura proved to be the only exception.

In 1900 Gaura Kishora Das Babaji gave initiation (diksha) to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura giving him the name 'Varsabhanavi devi dayita Dasa'. Gaura Kishora Das Babaji's legacy lived on with his only disciple Bhaktisiddhanta, as he later went on to preach all over India with his Gaudiya Math. Bhaktisiddhanta in turn gave diksha to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who preached the philosophy and culture of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition on a worldwide basis through his International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji Maharaja one said, "The Supreme Lord cannot be realized through worldly knowledge.  Only through the chanting of the holy name can the true nature of the Lord be revealed.  As the Lord is revealed from the letters comprising the Nama, the devotee gradually begins to understand his own nature and becomes acquainted with seva."

His disappearance day was celebrated at the temple with special discourse, pushpanjali and fasting till noon followed by prasada.

To Srila Gaura Kishora Das Babaji, the ocean of mercy, we pray for his blessings.

Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji disappearance day

Address:

Devotees all set for the Book Marathon!

News at a Glance:

Watch the Srimad Bhagvatam lecture LIVE from the temple!

Daily between 8 to 9am at the temple website!

Visit: www.iskconmumbai.com and click on ‘Live Darshan’

Temple stocks more than 10 lakh Bhagavad-gita As It Is in 5 languages for

distribution during the Marathon.

Temple management meets to plan for the upcoming Book Marathon!

Krishna & You :Salagram- Lord’s merciful incarnation for His devotees!

Salagrama is a direct manifestation of Lord Vishnu Himself.  In regards

to the Salagrama-sila, Lord Vishnu desired to appear in this world in a form which could be e a s i l y w o r s h i p p e d a n d

maintained by His devotees. Salagrama-silas are sacred black

stones that come from the Gandaki River valley, a remote area in the Himalayas. Sila means stone. The qualities and characteristics of the Salagrama-silas are not found on stones anywhere on earth except in the Gandaki region.  

According to the Brahma-vaivarta Purana,  there once appeared a princess on earth who was an expansion of Laxmi, the goddess of fortune. She took birth to participate in an earthly pastime of Lord Vishnu. She grew up to be exquisitely beautiful with all divine qualities and thus was called Tulasi (matchless). In due course of time, she was married to a powerful demon, Sankhchuda, as a result of a boon he had received from Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma also blessed him that he would remain undefeated in battle as long as Tulasi remained faithful to him. Taking advantage of this boon, Sankhchuda began to terrorize the demigods, who appealed to Lord Siva for help. Lord Siva too was unable to kill the demon, so Lord Vishnu devised a plan to disturb the chastity of Tulasi. He guised Himself as a Brahmin and begged Sankhchuda’s armor in charity. Upon receiving the armor he went toTulasi, who mistook Him for her husband. Her chastity thus broken, Lord Siva overpowered Sankhchuda and killed him. 

When Tulasi understood that the Sankhchuda that had spent time with her was actually Lord Vishnu and not her husband and that Sankhchuda had been killed by Lord Siva, Tulasi was overcome by anger and cursed Lord Vishnu saying "By deceiving me, you have broken my chastity and killed my

husband. Only one whose heart is like stone could do such a thing. Thus I curse you to remain on earth as a stone!" 

Accepting the curse of Tulasi, Lord Vishnu then replied, "For many years you underwent very difficult penances to achieve Me as your husband. At the same time, Sankhchuda also performed penances to get you as his wife. As a result of a boon from Lord Brahma, the desire of Sankhchuda was fulfilled. Now that Sankhchuda has left this mortal world and gone to the spiritual world, your desire to have Me as your husband will be fulfilled. It is My benediction that your present body will be transformed into the Gandaki River and from your beautiful hair will grow millions of small trees that

will be known as Tulasi. These trees will be held sacred by all My devotees, the Vaishnavas. To fulfill your

curse, I will become many stones (Salagrama-sila ) and will always live on the banks of the Gandaki River and the millions of Vajrakita worms that live at that place will adorn those stones with the signs of My cakra by carving them with their sharp

teeth." 

Thus, Tulasi appeared as the Gandaki River and as the sacred plant Tulasi, and Lord Vishnu began to dwell in the world as Salagrama-sila in the waters and on the banks of the Gandaki. It is also mentioned in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana that Sankhchuda was an eternal associate of Lord Krishna named Sudama who manifested in this world as a demon to assist in these pastimes. 

The Skanda Purana state:

"A  Salagrama-sila,  when duly worshipped at any place inhabited by any class of people, is able to purify an area with a radius of 24 miles. That area should be considered Vishnu-loka, non-different from the abode of Vishnu. If someone believing in the sanctity of Salagrama-sila, as per the verdict of the  shastra, breathes their last within that 24 mile radius, he is sure to attain  mukti,  salvation from material bondage."