The Unfathomable Extent Of Srila Prabhupada's Compassion

Bhakta Dasa narrates a pastime that occurred in 1972.

There was one devotee in San Francisco named Devarshi (the name might not be accurate).
Devarshi had become very famous as an expert seller of 'Back To Godhead' magazines. But somehow or other, he had a minor fall down, a sexual liaison of some sort. As a result, the Temple President of San Francisco had kicked him out of the temple.

So Devarshi was somewhat lost and was wandering around. The Temple President would call around other temples and say: "Dont let this Devarshi in! He's a rogue...".

One day, Devarshi shows up at the door of the San Diego temple. Bhakta Dasa, who was the Temple President at the time, recalls:
"I had a hard time keeping anybody out.
Srila Prabhupada was there and Devarshi was sitting on the from lawn, wanting to come in."

"Why don't you come and see Srila Prabhupada!" Bhakta Dasa offered.
So Devarshi came in and explained to Srila Prabhupada what had happened, how he wasn't welcome in the temples anymore, and nobody liked him.

Srila Prabhupada's reply to Devarshi came as a total surprise to everybody:
"You come and travel with me!"

Gokul Chaat & Snacks on Govardhan puja and Diwali

With great pleasure we would like to announce that we are having Gokul chaat and snacks stall on the day of  Govardhan puja and Diwali which is scheduled on 2nd and 3rd November respectively at Hare Krishna Melbourne temple.

Gokul chaat and snacks stall will be open on

• Saturday Govardhan Puja  from 12 noon to 5 pm


• Sunday Diwali from 4 pm to 8 pm

Menu:

• Paani Puri


• Bhel Puri


• Sev puri


• Dahi Puri

Gokul chaat team wishes happy Govardham Puja and Diwali.
See you soon.

Vaisnavas' Trademark: Tilaka!

Suresvara Dasa shares one pastime:

Before the start of an initiation lecture in New Vrindavana, Srila Prabhupada sent two boys out of the room... because they didn't have tilaka on their foreheads.

The two boys, Girish and Birabadra, were the sons of Shalavati, and were between 8 & 10 years old. Even though they were just boys, Srila Prabhupada noticed that they didn't have tilaka on.
So he motioned them out of the room with his hands, and instructed: "Go put tilaka!"

As they went out to adorn their bodies with the sacred markings, Srila Prabhupada stated:

"Tilaka is our trademark. We are selling Krsna...for free. And still no one will take!"
He started laughing heartily, "Still no one will take."

Sri Govardhana Eagerly Awaits Your Sweet Devotion

Giriraja Maharaja will come down from His altar this coming Saturday (2 November) to accept our offerings of sweet preparations, to form His kundas, hill tops, boulders and caves, grass pastures, etc.

We are all invited to bring the bhoga to be offered to Him by latest 3:30pm, in the paraphernalia room.

And if you are eager for some extra mercy, you can come earlier during the day to apply the multi-colored burfi that will constitute the base of Govardhana Hill.

Jaya Jaya Giri-govardhana!

The 'Master-Mentality' Drags Us To Hell

(The following pastime is narrated by Bhakta Dasa from California; not to be confused with 'our' Melbourne Bhakta Dasa!)

Bhakta Dasa remembers his initiation.

As Srila Prabhupada handed him his beads, he said:

"Your name is Bhakta das.
It means that you are the servant of the devotees.
The more you think of yourself as a servant, the more you will advance in spiritual life;
the more you think you're becoming a master, the faster you will go to hell!"

In just that one sentence, Srila Prabhupada summarised the essence of Krishna conscious philosophy.

HH Vedavyasapriya Swami's Melbourne Visit

We are pleased to announce that HH Vedavyasapriya Swami will be in Melbourne temple from Thursday 31st Oct. to Wednesday 6th Nov. His schedule will be as follows:

• 31 Oct -  Home program at 7:30 pm (Unit 5, 253 Danks St. Albert Park VIC 3206)


• 1 Nov - 5 Nov - Srimad Bhagavatam Class at 7:45 am in temple.


• 1 Nov - Home program at 7 pm (22 Cooinda Crescent, Clarinda, VIC 3169; Contact Rajkumar 0421 813 723)


• 2 Nov - Govardhan puja at 4:30 pm in temple.


• 3 Nov - Boat Cruise (bookings essential, for more details contact Akhand Dhi Das on 0421 004 004)


• 3 Nov  - Diwali Sunday feast program at 4:30 pm in temple


• 5 Nov - Bhakti Vriksa at 11 am (34 Marquands Rd. Truganina VIC 3029; Contact Prasad 0430 300 544)

You are welcome to participate in all programs and rejuvenate your life.

 

That Is Krsna's Mercy!

"When I went to America, I went by ship." Srila Prabhupada narrates, "It stopped at the Commonwealth Pier in Boston. So I was thinking that if 'I say that:
No illicit sex, no meat-eating, and no intoxication, and no gambling -
these people will immediately say, 'Please go home.' "

Srila Prabhupada chuckled and went on to say:

"Yes. That is the position. These are their daily affairs. These are their daily affairs in Western countries. And if you want to make them stop these things, they will think that 'This man is lunatic!'
But by Krsna's grace these boys, these girls, they agreed.
That is Krsna's grace!"

"I did not expect that they will agree. In India they do not agree, and they are accustomed from childhood, from boyhood. So how they will...?
But Krsna's grace is so nice, Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy is so great, that they agreed, and they are pushing on this movement on this principle."

(SB class 3.26.8 Bombay 27.12.1974)

Srila Prabhupada, Our Jagat Guru

Tamal Krsna Goswami had to undergo a surgery in India. While the doctor was administrating him anesthetic, Maharaja meditated on SS Radha Rasabihari. When Tamal Krsna Goswami fell unconscious, he had a dream:

Srila Prabhupada had been called by the previous acaryas to make a report!
It was related to Srila Prabhupada's preaching mission on this planet. And the previous acaryas were all there and they asked: "What is your report?"

Srila Prabhupada replied that he had studied the people of this planet and he found that they had no capacity for taking any type of austerity. Nor were they very capable of studying, and they were not very pious.
Srila Prabhupada stated: "The only thing so far that they seem to be able to do is that, somehow, they take shelter at my feet!"

When Tamal Krsna Goswami related his dream, Srila Prabhupada's response was:
"Actually this is so...this is so!"

Krishna Is The Ultimate Artist

Kaushalya Mataji, one of Srila Prabhupada's first female disciples relates the following pastime:

Once, in New Delhi, somebody told Srila Prabhupada:
"This whole world is maya, it's just an illusion!"

Kaushalya Mataji recalls that Srila Prabhupada jumped down this throat and retorted:
"How dare you call it an illusion!
It is beautiful! The mountains are beautiful, the oceans are beautiful; the rivers, the sky. This is a beautiful world! But what it is, is that it's temporary.
And it's just a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. So if you see the beauty of this world, you'll see how beautiful the spiritual world is. A million times more beautiful.


It's like if you were to paint a painting and bring to me and say: "Srila Prabhupada look at this painting I have done for you!"
And I would look at it (with disdain) and say: 'It's an illusion!'
It would hurt your feelings.
So I find it very offensive that you call this world an illusion!"

Drink This Ambrosial Nectar

Prahlāda Mahārāja is the popular emblem of devotee-children, commonly referred to as gurukulis in our society, and he wisely declared:

"One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life — in other words, from the tender age of childhood — to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements..."
(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.6.1)

We can actually demonstrate a 'live and direct' example of this statement:

Click here to view a short video of our junior sadhikas leading the damodarastakam on Wednesday night.

Srila Prabhupapa never gives up on anyone

"Srila Prabhupada never gave up on a devotee, no matter how many mistake the devotee would make; he wanted to see whether the devotee would still carry on and would still want to serve Krsna and serve him", recounts Tamal Krishna Goswami.

Maharaja had just made some serious mistakes regarding the sales contract of the Hare Krishna Land, in Juhu.
"But" he continues, "Srila Prabhupada did not reject me. He still gave me the opportunity to go through a hellish year and half after that, sitting in the lawyers chambers in Bombay, trying to recover the contract...but he never gave up on me"



"Srila Prabhupada said about Krsna: 'If you chant Hare Krsna even one time, sincerely, Krsna will never leave you alone'.
In the same way, Srila Prabhupada never leaves you alone. Even though you might make many blunders in his service, still he does not reject you. But he accepts you just as a father would accept a child; he expects that there may be mistakes.
He will chastise you like anything but he never gives you the sense that he doesn't love you."

Innocent Voices Glorifying The Damodarastakam

Melbourne's budding kirtaniyas were singing their jolly little hearts out yesterday at 7pm!

It was certainly pleasure to the ears... and to the eyes

Remembering Srila Prabhupada

Below is an anecdote that illustrates Srila Prabhupada's astute sense of humour.

Gohita Dasa remembers: It was San Francisco Ratha Yatra. An infamous man came to the prasadam distribution at Laguna Beach and he handed $30,000 cash to Srila Prabhupada, in $500 and $100 notes.
Srila Prabhupada actually knew how the man got the money so he jokingly asked, "So, how did you get that much money?"
The man replied, "I sell drugs Srila Prabhupada!"
Srila Prabhupada responded, "Oh I used to sell drugs too! For what pharmacy do you work for?"

New Schedule For Website Post

Dear Devotees,

please note that if you have an announcement that you wish to post on the Temple's website,
(for example, Spiritual Masters' visits, Special events you are organising etc) please submit your draft at least 4 days before the desired date of publication.

Your draft will contain the following information:

1. Title


2. Date


3. Venue


4. Further information about the event, as required.

This is an attempt to regulate the schedule of posts and maximise the effectiveness of the Temple's new website.
We would highly appreciate your cooperation in the matter.

"Sri Hansaduta" Seminar Videos

Here are all three videos of "Sri Hansaduta" seminar given by HH Kadamba Kanana Swami at Hare Krishna Temple.
Many thanks to Shyam Candra Das and Bhakta Russell Sara for making these videos available for all of us.

"Sri Hansaduta" Seminar Videos on YouTube.

Kartik Damodarastakam Roster