ISKCON FOUNDER ACHARYA:

HIS DIVINE GRACE

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Prabhupada

∗ IMPORTANT DATES:

8th July

2014 .Sayana

Ekadusi. 9th July

fast break time 7.30

am-10.37am

22nd July: Kamika

Ekadusi. 23rd July

Fast break time

06.37-10.38am

1sth July to 31st

July: Chanting at

least 2 mala’s

(minimum) every-

The Bansuri THE ISKCON MOMBASA ETHE ISKCON MOMBASA ETHE ISKCON MOMBASA ETHE ISKCON MOMBASA E----MAGAZINEMAGAZINEMAGAZINEMAGAZINE

THE PATH TO SELF THE PATH TO SELF THE PATH TO SELF THE PATH TO SELF ––––REALISATIONREALISATIONREALISATIONREALISATION

The Rath Yatra 2014 was celebrated amid hordes of deliri-

ous devotees at the Dwarikadham temple in Nyali . The

procession comprising which comprised of five rounds of

the temple was held within the confines of the temple com-

pound due to security concerns prevailing currently. Devo-

tees joyously and eagerly pulled the Rath of Lord Jagga-

nath round the temple and the Lord himself blessed the

devotees with a very short light and light shower in ap-

proval. Remarkably the Lord Jagganath blesses the Mom-

basa Rath Yatra with a very light shower every year. The

Yatra was followed by a short but enlightening pravarchan

by the very learned his grace Gauranga Prabhu.. A deli-

cious spread of prashadam awaited the tired and hungry

devotees at the end of the function which ended at 8.30 pm

A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet

hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.

All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a

barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked

and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.

Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent

bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the

powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked.

"That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbor. "He belongs to

the sky. We belong to the earth-- we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died

a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.

The path to Shri Krishna is the only way to self realization and

salvation. One can choose to be ignorant and live like the eagle

who lived like a chicken or seek salvation through Shri Krishna

and soar like a real eagle.

There were two chanting pro-

grams held during the Month of

June. The first one was at the

residence of Mr. Vinay at the

Likoni Towers and second at

Late Mr. Lalit Pandya’s resi-

dence. Both of them were well

attended and very successful.

The chanting programs are

catching on as more and more

devotees realize how the vibra-

tions at their homes change af-

ter each session. Please feel

free to contact the temple chair-

man Shri Anand Das in case you

wish to have a program done at

your residence. Its absolutely

free and takes minimum effort to host one.

Which flowers should be offered to a particular deity

RECIPE OF THE MONTH: CAJUN POTATOES

Ingredients:

4 Large potatoes

Mixed Italian spices (Rubbed basil, Rosemary, Marjoram, etc)

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp Oil

Chopped Mint leaves

! Tbsp Lime Juice

1 Tbsp Red chilly powder

Chopped coriander leaves

Method: Wash potatoes well and cut them into thick slices (without peeling). Put them in a bowl and mix in

all the rest of the ingredients except the coriander leaves. Put the bowl in the oven on high heat and allow

the potatoes to cook. Remove from the over when the potatoes are cooked and crispy. Mix well, and add the

chopped coriander leaves.

OFFER IT TO SHRI KRISHNA AND ENJOY THE PRASHADAM.

Normally we have a concept that a deity is to be offered only that flower which he/she likes. But is it really so?

Let us see the actual reason according to science of spirituality. A flower has a particular color and a special

fragrance. On a subtle level the color and fragrance particles present in the flower have a capacity to attract the

principles of a specific deity which benefits the worshipper. That is the principle behind offering specific flowers

to a deity and not because they like it.

To cite some examples white flower like that of Dhatura is offered to Lord Shiva, red colored flower like Hibis-

cus for Shri Ganesh, and red colored flowers for Shri Durgadevi also. If the worshipper has more spiritual emo-

tion for these flowers then the frequencies of deities get more activated through the medium of these flowers

and work for the worshipper directly.

The spiritual science has also shown us that a particular deity needs to be offered a particular flower in particu-

lar number. Let us understand this with the help of the points below.

Shri Durga devi should be offered either 1 or 9 Jasmine flowers

Lord Shiva should be offered 10 flowers of Rajnigandha

Shri Ram should be offered 4 flowers of Jai.

Lord Hanuman should be offered 5 flowers of Chameli

Shri Krushna should be offered 3 flowers of Krushna Kamal.

Thus we have up till now learnt about flower which is an important ingredient of puja material. We hope that

you will bring into practice whatever topics to which you are introduced today while performing puja ritual by

keenly paying attention and thus derive spiritual benefit out of it.

INSKCON INTERNATION NEWS : ISKCON TO BUILD THE TALLEST TEMPLE IN THE

WORLD IN MATHURA

SHRILA PRABHUPADA CORNER: THE GURU’S WISDOM

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is doing the ground breaking ceremony at Mathura, the birth place of

Lord Krishna, to build the world's tallest temple. It will be a 700 feet high skyscraper spread over an area of 5.5 acres and also have

70 floors. The ISKCON is hoping to complete the work in the next 5 years. The temple named Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, has a

unique architectural feature that harmoniously blends the elements of Indian traditional temple architecture of Nagara style and ele-

ments of modern architecture. According ISKCON, It will be the tallest place of worship anywhere in the World. This project will cost

more than Rs 300 crore and ISKCON is hoping the raise the money from the devotees. The grand temple is surrounded by about 30

acres of wooded area that constitute recreated forests of Braj. The original

source books of Krishna culture like the Srimad Bhagavatam and other ancient

texts describe twelve verdant forests (dvadashakanana) that were present dur-

ing the time of Lord Sri Krishna.

The ISKCON is planning to recreate Dwapara Yug, in which Lord Krishna was

born in the premises of the temple. The project is set in 62 acres of land and

includes 12 acres for parking and a helipad. According to its architects, the tem-

ple will have a viewing tower on the top and one can enjoy panoramic views of

Mathura, Agra and river Yamuna from there

THE POMP AND GLORY OF THE MOST JOYOUS RATH YATRA 2014

VIRTUAL TIRAT YARTA: VIRTUAL TIRAT YARTA: VIRTUAL TIRAT YARTA: VIRTUAL TIRAT YARTA: . SRI SUDAMA PURI, Porban-

dar:Birthplace and Residence of Sri Sudama Ji, the Dear-most childhood Friend of Lord Sri

Krishna

Sri Sudama Puri is the birthplace and residence of Sri Sudama Ji, the childhood friend of Lord Sri Krishna.

Sudama Puri is in the town of Porbandar, 104 km (2 hours) from Sri Dwarka Dhama. Porbandar is a coastal

harbour city situated on the western coast of Saurashtra, Gujarat, along the Arabian Sea. In the 10th century

Porbandar was known as "Pauravelakul" and thereafter renamed as "Sudamapuri".

Located at the centre of Porbandar, Sudama Ji’s temple is one of the exceptional temple in India which is dedi-

cated to the great devotee of Lord Krishna. Initially there was a smaller temple in 12th and 13th century. Cur-

rent Sudama Temple was constructed between 1902 to 1907. The main temple altar has the Deities of Sri Su-

dama Ji at the centre, Lord Sri Krishna at the left and Sri Sushila Ji, the wife of Sudama Ji on the right. Temple

gives the ‘Sudama Ji’s tandul (flat rice)’ as the maha-prasad. This temple is visited by thousands of devotees

from around the world. Every evening at 7pm there is sandhya-arati. Temple is looked after by a humble pu-

jari. Pujari recalls, often Hare Krishna devotees from around the world visit the temple. Devotees remember

and recite the pastimes of Sri Sudama Ji and Lord Krishna from the Krishna book. Every day at around 11am

and 5pm maha-prasadam is served at a hall behind the temple. The temple also has beautiful garden and the

ancient well from which Sudama Ji used to get water. Porbandar is also the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi

(Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi). Kirti Mandir in Porbandar is dedicated to him. Sudama Puri temple opening

hours: 7am to 9pm.

Sri Sudama Ji a brahmana was a personal friend of Lord Sri Krishna. Both Sudama Ji and Lord lived and stud-

ied at the ashram of their spiritual master, Sandipani Muni. Sri Sudama Ji was completely free of material de-

sires. He maintained himself and his wife with whatever came of its own accord, and thus they were poverty-

stricken. One day Sudama's wife, unable to find any food to prepare for her husband, went to him and asked

that he visit his friend Krishna in Dwarka and beg some charity. Sudama was reluctant, but in great humility

and submission when she again and again requested, he agreed to go, reflecting that an opportunity to see

the Lord was extremely auspicious. His wife begged a few handfuls of flattened rice as a gift for Sri Krishna,

and Sudama set off for Dwarka.

As Sudama approached the palace of Lord Krishna's principal wife, Rukmini-devi, the Lord saw him from a dis-

tance. Krishna immediately rose from His seat on Rukminī's bed and embraced His friend with great joy. Then

He sat Sudama down on the bed, washed his feet with His own hands and sprinkled the wash water on His

head. After this He presented him with various gifts and worshiped him with incense, lamps and so on. Mean-

while, Rukmini fanned the shabbily dressed brahmana with a yaktail whisk. All of this astonished the residents

of the palace. Lord Sri Krishna then took the hand of His friend, and the two of them reminisced about the

things they had done together long ago, while living in the school of their spiritual master. Sudama pointed out

that Krishna engages in the pastime of acquiring an education only to set an example for human society.

In the course of His loving talks with His friend Sudama, Lord Krishna said, "My dear brahmana, have you

brought any gift for Me from home? I regard as very significant even the smallest offering from My loving

devotee." But the poor brahmana was ashamed to present Krishna with his meager gift of flat rice. However,

since Lord Krishna is the Supersoul dwelling in all hearts, He knew why Sudama had come to visit Him. So He

grabbed the bundle of flat rice Sudama was hiding under his arms and ate a handful of it with great pleasure.

Lord ate a morsel of the flat rice brought by His friend Sudama and bestowed upon him wealth greater than

that of the King of heaven. He was about to eat a second morsel when Rukmini devi stopped Him.

Feeling as if he had gone back to Godhead, Sudama spent that night comfortably in Lord Krishna's palace, and

the next morning he set off for home. As he passed along the highway, he thought of how fortunate he was to

have been so honored by Sri Krishna. Absorbed in this meditation, Sudama arrived at the place where his

home used to be - and he was struck with great wonder. Instead of his broken-down hovel, he saw a series of

opulent palaces. While he stood astonished, a group of beautiful men and women came forward to greet him

with singing and music. The brahmana's wife, wonderfully adorned with celestial jewellery, came out of the

palace and welcomed him with great love and reverence. Sudama entered his home together with her, think-

ing that this extraordinary transformation must have been due to the Supreme Lord's mercy on him. From

then on Sudama lived his life amidst lavish wealth, yet he maintained his mood of detachment and constantly

chanted the glories of Lord Krishna In a short time he broke off all bonds of bodily attachment and attained to

the kingdom of God.

Once upon a time, the king of the demigods, Indra, happened to offend Brihaspathi, the spiritual

master of the demigods. Due to Indra’s disrespecting Brihaspathi, he was cursed to take birth as a

hog on earth. In due course of time, Indra took birth as a hog on earth and he grew up to have his

own little family of hogs with a wife and children. However, in the heavenly kingdom, svargaloka,

things were not going well due to the absence of King Indra. Brahmaji, the creator of this material

world, seeing that the administration of the universe was not going on smoothly due to the absence

of Indra, took it upon himself to bring Indra back.

Brahmaji traveled to earth and located Indra, who was in the form of a hog. Brahmaji informed the

hog that he was actually Indra and had several immense responsibilities waiting for him in svarga-

loka. However, the hog was unimpressed. The hog replied to Brahmaji that he was too busy with his

responsibilities towards his family of hogs. He had to take care of his wife, tend to his children who

were growing up etc. Brahmaji tried in many ways to convince the hog to give up his abominable life

and return to svargaloka, but to no avail. At last, when Brahmaji saw that the hog was unrelenting,

he used his mystic power to turn the hog back into Indra’s original body. When Indra got back his

body of a demigod, he was shocked at his deplorable life as a hog and was relieved that he had

been released from such an abominable condition of life. He willingly and happily returned with

Brahmaji to resume his responsible position in svargaloka.

The above incident illustrates how a person becomes extremely attached to his temporary body and

is unwilling to give it up even if he is living in the most distressing conditions and is promised of a

better life after this one. Even a person who is lying in his death bed is unwilling to give up his body

although wracked by old age and disease. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita Gita, “maam

upethya punar janma, duhkhalayam ashashvatam, naapnuvanti mahaatmaanah, samsiddhim pa-

ramaam gataah - After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this

temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.” Lord

Krishna informs us of the miserable nature of this material world and invites us to His spiritual

abode, which is characterized by an absence of miseries. Further, He assures us that once we re-

turn to His abode, there is no returning to this temporary material world.

As demonstrated by great stalwart devotees such as Arjuna, Janaka Maharaj etc., one should execute one’s duties in the material world, while keeping the goal of going back to Krishna central to one’s life. This is made extremely simple in kali yuga by chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra. Apart from this, we can take advantage of Krishna’s personal instructions in the form of the Bhagavad Gita and the narration of the pastimes of Lord Krishna and His in-carnations in the Srimad Bhagavatam. By this simple yet sublime process, our life within the material world will become blissful and our next life, we can be assured of an eternal life in the spiritual world, free from the problems of birth, death, disease and old age within the ma-terial world

WHEN LORD INDRA TURNED INTO A PIG

The REVENGE OF KING SUBALA AND HIS SON SHAKUNI: King Subala of Gandhara, which now falls around modern day Kandahar in Afghanistan, once performed a very

holy Yagna in his kingdom.

An astrologer who had attended the Yagna advised him to get his daughter married off to a goat, to bring fortunes

upon herself and her family. Heeding to his advise, King Subala got Gandhari married to a goat, and then killed the

goat subsequently. Technically, this made Gandhari a widow and Dhritrashtra her second husband.

This fact, though a bit trivial, however was kept hidden from Dhritrashtra, the eldest prince of Kuru kingdom, who

was blind since birth. Gandhari had voluntarily decided to blindfold herself throughout her married

life. Dhritrashtra, eventually learned about the truth of her wife, and decided to punish the entire Subala clan. He

imprisoned all of them, and used to supply one handful of rice for all of them every single day. With such a meager

amount of food, most of the members of the family died eventually.

King Subala decided that one of them should live and avenge the death of the entire family. From then itself, all

the rice allocated for the family was fed to the youngest son, who eventually went on to become stronger and

much sharper than before

Subala had 100 sons whom Dhritrashtra had imprisoned when he came to know of the absolute truth about his

wife's marriage to a goat. Subala decided to take a test of all the sons, so as to decide who would be getting that

one handful of rice to live and sustain and avenge their family's destruction. He gave a bone to each one of his

son, and asked them to put a thread through it. None of his other sons were able to complete the task when Sha-

kuni tied the thread to an ant who went through the entire length of the bone to reach a grain of rice at the other

end. Subala realized that he could no longer survive, and would eventually die of hunger, he requested Dhritrash-

tra to forgive him and his only son left till then. He promised that his son would not claim any right to his throne

and would always be a guardian to all the 101 children of Dhritrashtra, the Kauravas. Dhritrashtra took pity on the

old man and freed him eventually.and his son King Subala, before dying, instructed Shakuni to make a pair of dice

from his bones, which would always produce the numbers requested by him. The King also broke Shakuni’s leg so

that he never forgot his purpose of seeking revenge. He also asked Shakuni to be the reason of downfall of the

entire Kaurava clan. As promised, Shakuni became the guardian of the 101 Kauravas, and was the sheet anchor of

the entire "Chaupad" episode in Mahabharata, which then led to the very war of Mahabharat. He provoked the

Kauravas to do all the incorrect acts and thus formed the very basis of all the wrongdoings of Kauravas.

As per other legends, it is believed that when Bhishmapitamah brought the matrimonial proposal of Dhritrashtra

for Gandhari. The royal Gandhars felt angry and insulted that their princess was proposed of marrying a blind per-

son. The Kurus were mighty kingdom, and refusing the proposal of a mighty king was akin to being suicidal, so

they were left with practically no choice but to accept the proposal of Bhishmapitamah.

The anger, however propelled the king and his son Shakuni to avenge for the insult and Shakuni vowed to being

an important tool in eliminating the entire Kaurava clan Shakuni, by his sheer intelligence and judgement of char-

acters, was smart enough to sense the jealousy and anger trapped inside the heart of Duryodhana towards his

cousin brothers, and how he also feared them for their chivalry. He had also judged Yudhishtir's love for gambling

and how he could be manipulated to keep playing in spite of losses.

Another smart move which Shakuni applied was that he had guessed Krishna as one of those persons who would

be able to successfully foil all his plans for Kauravas in pitching them against Pandavas. For this reason, each one

of his manipulations and moves was done at a time when Krishna was away from the Pandavas.

To say that Shakuni was the brains behind all the master plans which the Kauravas instrumented against Panda-

vas, would not at all be exaggerating things. He was the brains behind cajoling Yudhishtir to play Chaupad and

then lose all of his kingdom and royalty, right to his family to Duryodhana. He again, was the one who suggested

12 year exile for Pandavas and 1 year anonymity exile after their loss in Chaupad. He was the one who suggested

to wage a war against the kingdom that was holding the Pandavas secretly, so that they are revealed and they

may again be sent for 12 year exile.

It was Shakuni idea to burn down the house of lac where Pandavas were supposedly hidden and could have died,

and also it was his idea to send Durvasa sage to the forests where the Pandavas were living so that he may curse

them. Even though, unlike Ravana, the name of Shakuni is associated with pure villainy, a temple of Shakuni is

located in Kerela at Pavitreshwaram. The temple as such doesn't encourage any puja or worship, just a few offer-

ings are made in the form of coconuts.

It is notable indeed that in his Endeavour to avenge the destruction of his family, or maybe to help his nephews

out in defeating the Pandavas, Shakuni himself never properly ruled his own kingdom. Seeing the atrocities he

meted out on Pandavas, keeping Kauravas in front, Sahadeva, one out of the five Pandavas vowed to kill Shakuni

and avenge all that he did to hurt their dignity and prestige. Shakuni had two sons, Uluk, who was killed by Nakul

and Kalikeya, who was killed by Abhimanyu. Shakuni himself was killed by Sahadeva on 18th day of Mahabharat.

Symbolically, Shakuni represented the Dwapar Yuga, a time when brother would kill brother in the quest for

power, and Shakuni was the catalyst

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS FROM THE MAHABHARAT.LITTLE KNOWN FACTS FROM THE MAHABHARAT.LITTLE KNOWN FACTS FROM THE MAHABHARAT.LITTLE KNOWN FACTS FROM THE MAHABHARAT.

Why Dhritarashtra was born blind: At the end of the war of Kurukshetra and on the

death of his hundred sons, Dhritarashtra asked Lord Krishna as to why was he

destined for such a tragic life, of blindness and bereavement of hundred sons

during his life time? Lord Krishna asked him to close his eyes and Dhritarashtra

saw, that in his previous life, he was a tyrant king. Once he was passing by the

sea and saw a swan surrounded by a hundred cygnets (baby swans). On a mo-

ment of sadistic pleasure, he ordered that the eyes of the swan be gorged out

and all the cygnets be killed. This cruelty had led him to be blind in this birth and

was made to bear the death of his hundred sons, just as he had done to the

swan. Dhritarashtra realised that this was his karma and none were to be

blamed for this.

VIDHUR IN HIS PREVIOUS LIFE VIDHUR IN HIS PREVIOUS LIFE VIDHUR IN HIS PREVIOUS LIFE VIDHUR IN HIS PREVIOUS LIFE One of the prominent figures in the history of the Ma-

habharata. He was conceived by Vyāsadeva in the womb of the maidservant of Ambikā, mother of Mahā-

rāja Pāṇḍu. He is the incarnation of Yamarāja. Being cursed by Maṇḍūka Muni, he was to become a śūdra.

The story is narrated as follows. Once upon a time the state police caught some thieves who had con-

cealed themselves in the hermitage of Maṇḍūka Muni. The police constables, as usual, arrested all the

thieves and Maṇḍūka Muni along with them. The magistrate specifically punished the muni to death by

being pierced with a lance. When he was just to be pierced, the news reached the king, and he at once

stopped the act on consideration of his being a great muni. The king personally begged the muni's pardon

for the mistake of his men, and the saint at once went to Yamarāja, who prescribes the destiny of the liv-

ing beings. Yamarāja, being questioned by the muni, replied that the muni in his childhood pierced an ant

with a sharpened straw, and for that reason he was put into difficulty. The muni thought it unwise on the

part of Yamarāja that he was punished for his childish innocence, and thus the muni cursed Yamarāja to

become a śūdra, and this śūdra incarnation of Yamarāja was known as Vidura, the śūdra brother of

Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Mahārāja Pāṇḍu. But this śūdra son of the Kuru dynasty was equally treated by

Bhīṣmadeva, along with his other nephews, and in due course Vidura was married with a girl who was

also born in the womb of a śūdrāṇī by a brāhmaṇa. Although Vidura did not inherit the property of his fa-

ther (the brother of Bhīṣmadeva), still he was given sufficient state property by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the elder

brother of Vidura. Vidura was very much attached to his elder brother, and all along he tried to guide him

on the right path. During the fratricidal war of Kurukṣetra, Vidura repeatedly implored his elder brother

to do justice to the sons of Pāṇḍu, but Duryodhana did not like such interference by his uncle, and thus he

practically insulted Vidura. This resulted in Vidura's leaving home for pilgrimage and taking instructions

from Maitreya.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Iskcon Mombasa wishes to sincerely thank the following donors for their donation

towards Rath Yatra Festival: 1.Mr.Pulin Gandhi and family Ksh. 500,000/- 2.Dr.

Kanu Bhai Babla-50000/- 3.Mr. Uday Patel Ksh. 15000/-, 4. Mr. Kanji

Bhai(Ganesh Fruits and Vegetables)-for the Vegetables 5.Dimond Industries-In

Kind 3X20 Ltrs Cooking Oil 6.Hindu Council of Mombasa and Texas ALarms(k)

Ltd. Provides Security and Volunteers 7.Alpines Ltd.(Mr.Sanjay Patel) Mineral Wa-

ter & Dispenser

2. Iskcon Mombasa would also like to thank : 1.Mr Uday Patel-Ksh 10000/- 2. Mr. Vi-

nay Shirur In memory of beloved his father Shri Raghuvir Shirur-Ksh.10000/- 3.

MOMBASA Canvas Ltd(Mr.Piyush Gohil& Family) 15Bag Rice, 4.Mr. Raju Suri -

Ksh.25000/-, 5. Mr.Ajesh Kumar Agravat-Ksh.15000/- being donations towards the

Iskcon’s Food-For-Life initiative.

3. The most important day of the Hindu calendar is soon upon us. The much awaited

Janmastami is slated to be celebrated on Sunday the 17th of August 2014. The de-

tailed program will be emailed to all the devotees soonest. The detailed program

will also be listed in next months The Bansuri magazine so please keep your eyes

peeled and calendar free for that most important date.

4. Are you fed up of celebrating your birthdays, anniversaries, etc in the same tedious

manner year in year out? Well our think tank has a brilliant idea for you. Why not

do a Food-for-life program to celebrate your big day. You will not only have done a

lot of good but also leave with a great feeling of satisfaction at the end of it all.

Chant: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,

Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare And be happy!