ISKCON Columbus

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (December 21, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Naveen Krishna Das & family
Sruthisagar & Ramya

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Bhakta Piyush (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Das (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule
5.00 PM - 5:30 PM: Bhajans by H.G.Kalanipuna Devi Dasi
5.30 PM - 6:15 PM: Class by Bhakta Piyush
6.15 PM - 6:55 PM: Aarti Kirtan and Sri Nrsimha Prayers by H.G. Harinamananda Das
6.55 PM - 7:00 PM: Announcements
7.00 PM: Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM: Temple to First Unitarian Church
8.15 PM: First Unitarian Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
12/25 - Christmas Celebrations at ISKCON temple

Bhagavad Gita 4.10

sri-bhagavan uvaca
vita-raga-bhaya-krodha
man-maya mam upasritah
bahavo jnana-tapasa
puta mad-bhavam agatah

TRANSLATION: Blessed lord said: Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me--and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.

PURPORT As described above, it is very difficult for a person who is too materially affected to understand the personal nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Generally, people who are attached to the bodily conception of life are so absorbed in materialism that it is almost impossible for them to understand that there is a transcendental body which is imperishable, full of knowledge and eternally blissful. In the materialistic concept, the body is perishable, full of ignorance and completely miserable. Therefore, people in general keep this same bodily idea in mind when they are informed of the personal form of the Lord. For such materialistic men, the form of the gigantic material manifestation is supreme. Consequently they consider the Supreme to be impersonal. And because they are too materially absorbed, the conception of retaining the personality after liberation from matter frightens them. When they are informed that spiritual life is also individual and personal, they become afraid of becoming persons again, and so they naturally prefer a kind of merging into the impersonal void. Generally, they compare the living entities to the bubbles of the ocean, which merge into the ocean. That is the highest perfection of spiritual existence attainable without individual personality. This is a kind of fearful stage of life, devoid of perfect knowledge of spiritual existence. Furthermore there are many persons who cannot understand spiritual existence at all. Being embarrassed by so many theories and by contradictions of various types of philosophical speculation, they become disgusted or angry and foolishly conclude that there is no supreme cause and that everything is ultimately void. Such people are in a diseased condition of life. Some people are too materially attached and therefore do not give attention to spiritual life, some of them want to merge into the supreme spiritual cause, and some of them disbelieve in everything, being angry at all sorts of spiritual speculation out of hopelessness. This last class of men take to the shelter of some kind of intoxication, and their affective hallucinations are sometimes accepted as spiritual vision. One has to get rid of all three stages of attachment to the material world, negligence of spiritual life, fear of a spiritual personal identity, and the conception of void that underlies the frustration of life. To get free from these three stages of the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the disciplines and regulative principles of devotional life. The last stage of the devotional life is called bhava, or transcendental love of Godhead.

According to Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the science of devotional service:

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango 'tha bhajana-kriya
tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat tato nistha rucis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas tatah premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah pradurbhave bhavet kramah

"In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Krsna consciousness, which is matured in bhava, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life." In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one's individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations resulting from void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (December 14, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Naveen Krishna Das & family

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Bhakta Piyush (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Das (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule
5.00 PM - 5:30 PM: Bhajans by Bhakta Dhiralalitha
5.30 PM - 6:15 PM: Class by H.G. Sri Kishore Das
Topic: Overcoming challenges faced in the path of devotional service
Krishna Consciousness is a very simple process. Srila Prabhupada taught us how it makes life sublime. However, down the line, there are some difficulties, although it is simple. Srila Prabhupada said, simple but not easy. Sri Kishore Das will discuss some obstacles faced in Krishna Consciousness and how to overcome them...
6.15 PM - 6:55 PM: Aarti Kirtan and Sri Nrsimha Prayers by H.G. Harinamananda Das
6.55 PM - 7:00 PM: Announcements
7.00 PM: Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM: Temple to First Unitarian Church
8.15 PM: First Unitarian Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
12/25 - Christmas Celebrations

Bhagavad Gita 4.7

sri-bhagavan uvaca
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna

TRANSLATION
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna..

PURPORT
The Lord's descent from His transcendental abode is already explained in the 6th verse. One who can understand the truth of the appearance of the Personality of Godhead is already liberated from material bondage, and therefore he returns to the kingdom of God immediately after quitting this present material body. Such liberation of the living entity from material bondage is not at all easy. The impersonalists and the yogis attain liberation only after much trouble and many, many births. Even then, the liberation they achieve--merging into the impersonal brahmajyoti of the Lord--is only partial, and there is the risk of returning again to this material world. But the devotee, simply by understanding the transcendental nature of the body and activities of the Lord, attains the abode of the Lord after ending this body and does not run the risk of returning again to this material world. In the Brahma-samhita it is stated that the Lord has many, many forms and incarnations: advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam. Although there are many transcendental forms of the Lord, they are still one and the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. One has to understand this fact with conviction, although it is incomprehensible to mundane scholars and empiric philosophers. As stated in the Vedas:

eko devo nitya-lilanurakto
bhakta-vyapi hrdy antar-atma

"The one Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally engaged in many, many transcendental forms in relationships with His unalloyed devotees." This Vedic version is confirmed in this verse of the Gita personally by the Lord. He who accepts this truth on the strength of the authority of the Vedas and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who does not waste time in philosophical speculations attains the highest perfectional stage of liberation. Simply by accepting this truth on faith, one can, without a doubt, attain liberation. The Vedic version, "tattvamasi," is actually applied in this case. Anyone who understands Lord Krsna to be the Supreme, or who says unto the Lord "You are the same Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead" is certainly liberated instantly, and consequently his entrance into the transcendental association of the Lord is guaranteed. In other words, such a faithful devotee of the Lord attains perfection, and this is confirmed by the following Vedic assertion:

tam eva viditvati mrtyum eti nanyah pantha vidyate 'yanaya

One can attain the perfect stage of liberation from birth and death simply by knowing the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no alternative because anyone who does not understand Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is surely in the mode of ignorance. Consequently he will not attain salvation, simply, so to speak, by licking the outer surface of the bottle of honey, or by interpreting the Bhagavad-gita according to mundane scholarship. Such empiric philosophers may assume very important roles in the material world, but they are not necessarily eligible for liberation. Such puffed-up mundane scholars have to wait for the causeless mercy of the devotee of the Lord. One should therefore cultivate Krsna consciousness with faith and knowledge, and in this way attain perfection.

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (December 07, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the ISKCON Columbus temple

Location
Columbus Krishna House
379 W 8th Ave
Columbus OH 43201

Feast Sponsor
Rambabu Vanama & family

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Piyush prabhu (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Prabhu (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule
5.00 PM:Bhajans by Bhakta Hari & Govinda
5.30 PM:Devotional Music Program by HG Devananda Pundit
6.15 PM: Arati Kirtan & Sri Nrsimha Prayers by Dhiralalitha Das
6.55 PM:Announcements
7.00 PM:Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
No shuttle service as this week's program is at the temple

Upcoming Events
12/25 Christmas celebrations

Bhagavad Gita 4.8

sri-bhagavan uvaca
paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge

TRANSLATION
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.

PURPORT
According to Bhagavad-gita, a sadhu (holy man) is a man in Krsna consciousness. A person may appear to be irreligious, but if he has the qualifications of Krsna consciousness wholly and fully, he is to be understood to be a sadhu. And duskrtam applies to one who doesn't care for Krsna consciousness. Such miscreants, or duskrtam, are described as foolish and the lowest of mankind, even though they may be decorated with mundane education; whereas another person, who is one hundred percent engaged in Krsna consciousness, is accepted as sadhu, even though such a person may neither be learned nor well cultured. As far as the atheistic are concerned, it is not necessary for the Supreme Lord to appear as He is to destroy them, as He did with the demons Ravana and Kamsa. The Lord has many agents who are quite competent to vanquish demons. But the Lord especially descends to appease His unalloyed devotees, who are always harassed by the demoniac. The demon harasses the devotee, even though the latter may happen to be his kin. Although Prahlada Maharaja was the son of Hiranyakasipu, he was nonetheless persecuted by his father; although Devaki, the mother of Krsna, was the sister of Kamsa, she and her husband Vasudeva were persecuted only because Krsna was to be born of them. So Lord Krsna appeared primarily to deliver Devaki, rather than kill Kamsa, but both were performed simultaneously. Therefore it is said here that to deliver the devotee and vanquish the demon miscreants, the Lord appears in different incarnations.

In the Caitanya-caritamrta of Krsnadasa Kaviraja, the following verses summarize these principles of incarnation:

srsti-hetu yei murti prapance avatare
sei isvara-murti 'avatara' nama dhare

mayatita paravyome sabara avasthana
visve avatari' dhare 'avatara' nama

"The avatara, or incarnation of Godhead, descends from the kingdom of God for material manifestation. And the particular form of the Personality of Godhead who so descends is called an incarnation, or avatara. Such incarnations are situated in the spiritual world, the kingdom of God. When they descend to the material creation, they assume the name avatara."

There are various kinds of avataras, such as purusavataras, gunavataras, lilavataras, sakty-avesa avataras, manvantara-avataras and yugavataras--all appearing on schedule all over the universe. But Lord Krsna is the primeval Lord, the fountainhead of all avataras. Lord Sri Krsna descends for the specific purposes of mitigating the anxieties of the pure devotees, who are very anxious to see Him in His original Vrndavana pastimes. Therefore, the prime purpose of the Krsna avatara is to satisfy His unalloyed devotees.

The Lord says that He incarnates Himself in every millennium. This indicates that He incarnates also in the age of Kali. As stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the incarnation in the age of Kali is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who spread the worship of Krsna by the sankirtana movement (congregational chanting of the holy names), and spread Krsna consciousness throughout India. He predicted that this culture of sankirtana would be broadcast all over the world, from town to town and village to village. Lord Caitanya as the incarnation of Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, is described secretly but not directly in the confidential parts of the revealed scriptures, such as the Upanisads, Mahabharata, Bhagavatam, etc. The devotees of Lord Krsna are much attracted by the sankirtana movement of Lord Caitanya. This avatara of the Lord does not kill the miscreants, but delivers them by the causeless mercy of the Lord.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Sunday Feast!

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (November 23, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Dinesh Jaiswal & Isha

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Bhakta Piyush (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Das (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule
5.00 PM - 5:30 PM: Bhajans by H.G. Kalanipuna Devi Dasi & Bhaktin Gurjeet
5.30 PM - 6:15 PM: Class by Bhakta Carl
6.15 PM - 6:55 PM: Aarti Kirtan and Sri Nrsimha Prayers by Bhakta Krishna Balaram
6.55 PM - 7:00 PM: Announcements
7.00 PM: Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM: Temple to First Unitarian Church
8.15 PM: First Unitarian Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
11/27 - Thanksgiving Celebrations

Bhagavad Gita 4.6

sri-bhagavan uvaca
ajo 'pi sann avyayatma
bhutanam isvaro 'pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya
sambhavamy atma-mayaya

TRANSLATION
The Blessed Lord said: Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.

PURPORT
The Lord has spoken about the peculiarity of His birth: although He may appear like an ordinary person, He remembers everything of His many, many past "births," whereas a common man cannot remember what he has done even a few hours before. If someone is asked what he did exactly at the same time one day earlier, it would be very difficult for a common man to answer immediately. He would surely have to dredge his memory to recall what he was doing exactly at the same time one day before. And yet, men often dare claim to be God, or Krsna. One should not be misled by such meaningless claims. Then again, the Lord explains His prakrti, or His form. Prakrti means nature as well as svarupa, or one's own form. T

he Lord says that He appears in His own body. He does not change His body, as the common living entity changes from one body to another. The conditioned soul may have one kind of body in the present birth, but he has a different body in the next birth. In the material world, the living entity has no fixed body but transmigrates from one body to another. The Lord, however, does not do so. Whenever He appears, He does so in the same original body, by His internal potency. In other words, Krsna appears in this material world in His original eternal form, with two hands, holding a flute. He appears exactly in His eternal body, uncontaminated by this material world. Although He appears in the same transcendental body and is Lord of the universe, it still appears that He takes His birth like an ordinary living entity. Despite the fact Lord Krsna grows from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth, astonishingly enough He never ages beyond youth. At the time of the Battle of Kuruksetra, He had many grandchildren at home; or, in other words, He had sufficiently aged by material calculations. Still He looked just like a young man twenty or twenty-five years old. We never see a picture of Krsna in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation--past, present, and future. Neither His body nor His intelligence ever deteriorates or changes.

Therefore, it is clear that in spite of His being in the material world, He is the same unborn, eternal form of bliss and knowledge, changeless in His transcendental body and intelligence. Factually, His appearance and disappearance is like the sun's rising, moving before us, and then disappearing from our eyesight. When the sun is out of sight, we think that the sun is set, and when the sun is before our eyes, we think that the sun is on the horizon. Actually, the sun is always in its fixed position, but owing to our defective, insufficient senses, we calculate the appearance and disappearance of the sun in the sky. And, because His appearance and disappearance are completely different from that of any ordinary, common living entity, it is evident that He is eternal, blissful knowledge by His internal potency--and He is never contaminated by material nature. The Vedas also confirm that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unborn, yet He still appears to take His birth in multi-manifestations. The Vedic supplementary literatures also confirm that even though the Lord appears to be taking His birth, He is still without change of body. In the Bhagavatam, He appears before His mother as Narayana, with four hands and the decorations of the six kinds of full opulences. His appearance in His original eternal form is His causeless mercy, according to the Visva-kosa dictionary. The Lord is conscious of all of His previous appearances and disappearances, but a common living entity forgets everything about his past body as soon as he gets another body. He is the Lord of all living entities because He performs wonderful and superhuman activities while He is on this earth. Therefore, the Lord is always the same Absolute Truth and is without differentiation between His form and self, or between His quality and body.

A question may now be raised as to why the Lord appears and disappears in this world. This is explained in the next verse.

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (November 16, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Deepak Lokhande & Family
Sruthisagar & Ramya

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Bhakta Piyush (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Das (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule
5.00 PM - 5:30 PM: Bhajans
5.30 PM - 6:15 PM: Class By Bhakta Piyush

Topic: Importance of Sunday Feast

6.15 PM - 6:55 PM: Aarti Kirtan and Sri Nrsimha Prayers
6.55 PM - 7:00 PM: Announcements
7.00 PM: Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM: Temple to First Unitarian Church
8.15 PM: First Unitarian Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
11/15 & 11/16 - Weekend Self-Realization Course

Bhagavad Gita 4.5

sri-bhagavan uvaca
bahuni me vyatitani
janmani tava carjuna
tany aham veda sarvani
na tvam vettha parantapa

TRANSLATION
The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!

PURPORT
In the Brahma-samhita we have information of many, many incarnations of the Lord. It is stated there:

advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam
adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca
vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
(Bs. 5.33)

"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is the original person--absolute, infallible, without beginning. Although expanded into unlimited forms, still the same original, the oldest, and the person always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the Lord are usually understood by the best Vedic scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees."
It is also stated in Brahma-samhita:

ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan
nanavataram akarod bhuvanesu kintu
krsnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

(5.39)
"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rama, Nrsimha and many subincarnations as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead known as Krsna, and who incarnates personally also."
In the Vedas also it is said that the Lord, although one without a second, nevertheless manifests Himself in innumerable forms. He is like the vaidurya stone, which changes color yet still remains one. All those multiforms are understood by the pure, unalloyed devotees, but not by a simple study of the Vedas: vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau. Devotees like Arjuna are constant companions of the Lord, and whenever the Lord incarnates, the associate devotees also incarnate in order to serve the Lord in different capacities. Arjuna is one of these devotees, and in this verse it is understood that some millions of years ago when Lord Krsna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god Vivasvan, Arjuna, in a different capacity, was also present. But the difference between the Lord and Arjuna is that the Lord remembered the incidence, whereas Arjuna could not remember. That is the difference between the part and parcel living entity and the Supreme Lord. Although Arjuna is addressed herein as the mighty hero who could subdue the enemies, he is unable to recall what had happened in his various past births. Therefore, a living entity, however great he may be in the material estimation, can never equal the Supreme Lord. Anyone who is a constant companion of the Lord is certainly a liberated person, but he cannot be equal to the Lord. The Lord is described in the Brahma-samhita as infallible (acyuta), which means that He never forgets Himself, even though He is in material contact. Therefore, the Lord and the living entity can never be equal in all respects, even if the living entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee of the Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord, but by the divine grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this transcendental nature. Consequently these descriptions in the Gita cannot be understood by demonic brains. Krsna remembered acts which were performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not, despite the fact that both Krsna and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We may also note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to his change of body, but the Lord remembers because He does not change His sac-cid-ananda body. He is advaita, which means there is no distinction between His body and Himself. Everything in relation to Him is spirit--whereas the conditioned soul is different from his material body. And, because the Lord's body and self are identical, His position is always different from the ordinary living entity, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to this transcendental nature of the Lord, as the Lord explains in the following verse.

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (November 09, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Naveen Krishna Das & Family
Prasant Joshii

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Bhakta Piyush (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Das (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule
5.00 PM - 5:30 PM: Bhajans
5.30 PM - 6:15 PM: Discourse on Bhagavad-Gita By Bhakta Krishnakumar
6.15 PM - 6:55 PM: Damodara Ashtakam and Sri Nrsimha Prayers
6.55 PM - 7:00 PM: Announcements
7.00 PM: Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM: Temple to First Unitarian Church
8.15 PM: First Unitarian Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
-

Bhagavad Gita 4.1

arjuna uvaca
aparam bhavato janma
param janma vivasvatah
katham etad vijaniyam
tvam adau proktavan iti

TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?

PURPORT
Arjuna is an accepted devotee of the Lord, so how could he not believe Krsna's words? The fact is that Arjuna is not inquiring for himself but for those who do not believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead or for the demons who do not like the idea that Krsna should be accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead; for them only Arjuna inquires on this point, as if he were himself not aware of the Personality of Godhead, or Krsna. As it will be evident from the Tenth Chapter, Arjuna knew perfectly well that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the fountainhead of everything and the last word in transcendence. Of course, Krsna also appeared as the son of Devaki on this earth. How Krsna remained the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, the eternal, original person, is very difficult for an ordinary man to understand. Therefore, to clarify this point, Arjuna put this question before Krsna so that He Himself could speak authoritatively. That Krsna is the supreme authority is accepted by the whole world, not only at present, but from time immemorial, and the demons alone reject Him. Anyway, since Krsna is the authority accepted by all, Arjuna put this question before Him in order that Krsna would describe Himself without being depicted by the demons who always try to distort Him in a way understandable to the demons and their followers. It is necessary that everyone, for his own interest, know the science of Krsna. Therefore, when Krsna Himself speaks about Himself, it is auspicious for all the worlds. To the demons, such explanations by Krsna Himself may appear to be strange because the demons always study Krsna from their own standpoint, but those who are devotees heartily welcome the statements of Krsna when they are spoken by Krsna Himself. The devotees will always worship such authoritative statements of Krsna because they are always eager to know more and more about Him. The atheists, who consider Krsna an ordinary man, may in this way come to know that Krsna is superhuman, that He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha--the eternal form of bliss and knowledge--that He is transcendental, and that He is above the domination of the modes of material nature and above the influence of time and space. A devotee of Krsna, like Arjuna, is undoubtedly above any misunderstanding of the transcendental position of Krsna. Arjuna's putting this question before the Lord is simply an attempt by the devotee to defy the atheistic attitude of persons who consider Krsna to be an ordinary human being, subject to the modes of material nature.

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (November 02, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Rambabu Vanama & Family

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Bhakta Piyush (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Das (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule
5.00 PM:Bhajans
5.30 PM:Discourse on Bhagavad-Gita
6.15 PM:Kirtan
6.45 PM:Sri Nrsimha Prayers and Announcements
7.00 PM:Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM Temple to Church
8.15 PM Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
-

Bhagavad Gita 4.1

sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave 'bravit

TRANSLATION
The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.

PURPORT
Herein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gita traced from a remote time when it was delivered to the royal order, the kings of all planets. This science is especially meant for the protection of the inhabitants, and therefore the royal order should understand it in order to be able to rule the citizens and protect them from the material bondage to lust. Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by education, culture and devotion. In other words, the executive heads of all states are intended to spread the science of Krsna consciousness so that the people may take advantage of this great science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of the human form of life.

In this millennium, the sun-god is known as Vivasvan, the king of the sun, which is the origin of all planets within the solar system. In the Brahma-samhita it is stated:

yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

"Let me worship," Lord Brahma said, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is the original person and under whose order the sun, which is the king of all planets, is assuming immense power and heat. The sun represents the eye of the Lord and traverses its orbit in obedience to His order."

The sun is the king of the planets, and the sun-god (at present of the name Vivasvan) rules the sun planet, which is controlling all other planets by supplying heat and light. He is rotating under the order of Krsna, and Lord Krsna originally made Vivasvan His first disciple to understand the science of Bhagavad-gita. The Gita is not, therefore, a speculative treatise for the insignificant mundane scholar but is a standard book of knowledge coming down from time immemorial.

In the Mahabharata (Santi-parva 348.51-52) we can trace out the history of the Gita as follows:

treta-yugadau ca tato vivasvan manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhrty-artham sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito vyapya lokan avasthitah

"In the beginning of the Treta-yuga [millennium] this science of the relationship with the Supreme was delivered by Vivasvan to Manu. Manu, being the father of mankind, gave it to his son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu dynasty in which Lord Ramacandra appeared." Therefore, Bhagavad-gita existed in the human society from the time of Maharaja Iksvaku.

At the present moment we have just passed through five thousand years of the Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years. Before this there was the Dvapara-yuga (800,000 years), and before that there was Treta-yuga (1,200,000 years). Thus, some 2,005,000 years ago, Manu spoke the Bhagavad-gita to his disciple and son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this planet earth. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some 305,300,000 years, of which 120,400,000 have passed. Accepting that before the birth of Manu, the Gita was spoken by the Lord to His disciple, the sun-god Vivasvan, a rough estimate is that the Gita was spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago; and in human society it has been extant for two million years. It was respoken by the Lord again to Arjuna about five thousand years ago. That is the rough estimate of the history of the Gita, according to the Gita itself and according to the version of the speaker, Lord Sri Krsna. It was spoken to the sun-god Vivasvan because he is also a ksatriya and is the father of all ksatriyas who are descendants of the sun-god, or the surya-vamsa ksatriyas. Because Bhagavad-gita is as good as the Vedas, being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this knowledge is apauruseya, superhuman. Since the Vedic instructions are accepted as they are, without human interpretation, the Gita must therefore be accepted without mundane interpretation. The mundane wranglers may speculate on the Gita in their own ways, but that is not Bhagavad-gita as it is. Therefore, Bhagavad-gita has to be accepted as it is, from the disciplic succession, and it is described herein that the Lord spoke to the sun-god, the sun-god spoke to his son Manu, and Manu spoke to his son Iksvaku.

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (October 19, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Naveen Krishna Das & family

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Piyush prabhu (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Prabhu (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule for Sunday, October 19, 2008
5.00 PM:Bhajans by Bhaktin Amrita & Bhaktin Tulasi
5.30 PM:Speaker: H.G. Tapasvini Devi Dasi
6.15 PM:Kirtan by H.G. Harinamananda Das
6.45 PM:Sri Nrsimha Prayers and Announcements
7.00 PM:Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM Temple to Church
8.15 PM Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
October Diwali & Govardhan Puja

Bhagavad Gita 4.1

sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave 'bravit

TRANSLATION
The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.

PURPORT
Herein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gita traced from a remote time when it was delivered to the royal order, the kings of all planets. This science is especially meant for the protection of the inhabitants, and therefore the royal order should understand it in order to be able to rule the citizens and protect them from the material bondage to lust. Human life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive heads of all states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to the citizens by education, culture and devotion. In other words, the executive heads of all states are intended to spread the science of Krsna consciousness so that the people may take advantage of this great science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of the human form of life.

In this millennium, the sun-god is known as Vivasvan, the king of the sun, which is the origin of all planets within the solar system. In the Brahma-samhita it is stated:

yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

"Let me worship," Lord Brahma said, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krsna], who is the original person and under whose order the sun, which is the king of all planets, is assuming immense power and heat. The sun represents the eye of the Lord and traverses its orbit in obedience to His order."

The sun is the king of the planets, and the sun-god (at present of the name Vivasvan) rules the sun planet, which is controlling all other planets by supplying heat and light. He is rotating under the order of Krsna, and Lord Krsna originally made Vivasvan His first disciple to understand the science of Bhagavad-gita. The Gita is not, therefore, a speculative treatise for the insignificant mundane scholar but is a standard book of knowledge coming down from time immemorial.

In the Mahabharata (Santi-parva 348.51-52) we can trace out the history of the Gita as follows:

treta-yugadau ca tato vivasvan manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhrty-artham sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito vyapya lokan avasthitah

"In the beginning of the Treta-yuga [millennium] this science of the relationship with the Supreme was delivered by Vivasvan to Manu. Manu, being the father of mankind, gave it to his son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu dynasty in which Lord Ramacandra appeared." Therefore, Bhagavad-gita existed in the human society from the time of Maharaja Iksvaku.

At the present moment we have just passed through five thousand years of the Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years. Before this there was the Dvapara-yuga (800,000 years), and before that there was Treta-yuga (1,200,000 years). Thus, some 2,005,000 years ago, Manu spoke the Bhagavad-gita to his disciple and son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of this planet earth. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some 305,300,000 years, of which 120,400,000 have passed. Accepting that before the birth of Manu, the Gita was spoken by the Lord to His disciple, the sun-god Vivasvan, a rough estimate is that the Gita was spoken at least 120,400,000 years ago; and in human society it has been extant for two million years. It was respoken by the Lord again to Arjuna about five thousand years ago. That is the rough estimate of the history of the Gita, according to the Gita itself and according to the version of the speaker, Lord Sri Krsna. It was spoken to the sun-god Vivasvan because he is also a ksatriya and is the father of all ksatriyas who are descendants of the sun-god, or the surya-vamsa ksatriyas. Because Bhagavad-gita is as good as the Vedas, being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this knowledge is apauruseya, superhuman. Since the Vedic instructions are accepted as they are, without human interpretation, the Gita must therefore be accepted without mundane interpretation. The mundane wranglers may speculate on the Gita in their own ways, but that is not Bhagavad-gita as it is. Therefore, Bhagavad-gita has to be accepted as it is, from the disciplic succession, and it is described herein that the Lord spoke to the sun-god, the sun-god spoke to his son Manu, and Manu spoke to his son Iksvaku.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Sunday Feast!

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (October 12, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Naveen Krishna Das & family

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Piyush prabhu (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Prabhu (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule for Sunday, October 12, 2008
5.00 PM:Bhajans by H.G Kalanipuna DD & Bhaktin Gurjeet
5.30 PM:Speaker: Bhakta Krishnakumar

Topic: Devotees are the best transcendentalists
We will discuss Si Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's explanation of the celebrated Srimad Bhagavatham verse
atmaaraamascha munaya
nigrantha api urukrame
kurvanthi ahaituki bhakthim
ittham 'bhuta guno harih

6.15 PM:Kirtan by Bhakta Krishna Balaram
6.45 PM:Sri Nrsimha Prayers and Announcements
7.00 PM:Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM Temple to Church
8.15 PM Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
October Diwali & Govardhan Puja

Bhagavad Gita 3.43

evam buddheh param buddhva
samstabhyatmanam atmana
jahi satrum maha-baho
kama-rupam durasadam

TRANSLATION
Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to material senses, mind and intelligence, one should control the lower self by the higher self and thus--by spiritual strength--conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.

PURPORT
This Third Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita is conclusively directive to Krsna consciousness by knowing oneself as the eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without considering impersonal voidness as the ultimate end. In the material existence of life, one is certainly influenced by propensities for lust and desire for dominating the resources of material nature. Desire for overlording and sense gratification are the greatest enemies of the conditioned soul; but by the strength of Krsna consciousness, one can control the material senses, the mind and the intelligence. One may not give up work and prescribed duties all of a sudden; but by gradually developing Krsna consciousness, one can be situated in a transcendental position without being influenced by the material senses and the mind--by steady intelligence directed toward one's pure identity. This is the sum total of this chapter. In the immature stage of material existence, philosophical speculations and artificial attempts to control the senses by the so-called practice of yogic postures can never help a man toward spiritual life. He must be trained in Krsna consciousness by higher intelligence.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Sunday Feast!

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Please join us at 5.00 PM on this Sunday (October 05, 2008) for the ISKCON Columbus weekly Sunday feast celebration! This Sunday feast program will be held at the First Unitarian Church

Location
First Unitarian Church
93 W Weisheimer Rd
Columbus OH 43214

Feast Sponsor
Rambabu Vanama & family

To sponsor a Sunday feast, please contact Piyush prabhu (gulla007@hotmail.com) or Naveen Krishna Prabhu (NaveenPotham@hotmail.com).

Feast schedule for Sunday, October 05, 2008
5.00 PM:Bhajans by Bhakta Krishnakumar & Bhakta Rambabu
5.30 PM:Speaker: H.G. Harinamananda Das
Topic: Bhagavad Gita 9.19

tapamy aham aham varsam
nigrhnamy utsrjami ca
amrtam caiva mrtyus ca
sad asac caham arjuna

TRANSLATION
O Arjuna, I control heat, the rain and the drought. I am immortality, and I am also death personified. Both being and nonbeing are in Me.

PURPORT
Krsna, by His different energies, diffuses heat and light through the agency of electricity and the sun. During summer season it is Krsna who checks rain from falling from the sky, and then, during the rainy season, He gives unceasing torrents of rain. The energy which sustains us by prolonging the duration of our life is Krsna, and Krsna meets us at the end as death. By analyzing all these different energies of Krsna, one can ascertain that for Krsna there is no distinction between matter and spirit, or, in other words, He is both matter and spirit. In the advanced stage of Krsna consciousness, one does not therefore make such distinctions. He sees Krsna only in everything.

Since Krsna is both matter and spirit, the gigantic universal form comprising all material manifestations is also Krsna, and His pastimes in Vrndavana as two-handed Syamasundara, playing on a flute, are those of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

6.15 PM: Arati Kirtan by H.G. Harinamananda Das
6.45 PM:Sri Nrsimha Prayers and Announcements
7.00 PM:Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)

Shuttle Service
4.15 PM Temple to Church
4.15 PM Church to Temple

Upcoming Events
October Diwali & Govardhan Puja

Bhagavad Gita 3.42

indriyani parany ahur
indriyebhyah param manah
manasas tu para buddhir
yo buddheh paratas tu sah

TRANSLATION
The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.

PURPORT
The senses are different outlets for the activities of lust. Lust is reserved within the body, but it is given vent through the senses. Therefore, the senses are superior to the body as a whole. These outlets are not in use when there is superior consciousness, or Krsna consciousness. In Krsna consciousness the soul makes direct connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the bodily functions, as described here, ultimately end in the Supreme Soul. Bodily action means the functions of the senses, and stopping the senses means stopping all bodily actions. But since the mind is active, then, even though the body may be silent and at rest, the mind will act--as it does during dreaming. But, above the mind there is the determination of the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul proper. If, therefore, the soul is directly engaged with the Supreme, naturally all other subordinates, namely, the intelligence, mind and the senses, will be automatically engaged. In the Katha Upanisad there is a passage in which it is said that the objects of sense gratification are superior to the senses, and mind is superior to the sense objects. If, therefore, the mind is directly engaged in the service of the Lord constantly, then there is no chance of the senses becoming engaged in other ways. This mental attitude has already been explained. If the mind is engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord, there is no chance of its being engaged in the lower propensities. In the Katha Upanisad the soul has been described as mahan, the great. Therefore the soul is above all--namely, the sense objects, the senses, the mind and the intelligence. Therefore, directly understanding the constitutional position of the soul is the solution of the whole problem.

With intelligence one has to seek out the constitutional position of the soul and then engage the mind always in Krsna consciousness. That solves the whole problem. A neophyte spiritualist is generally advised to keep aloof from the objects of senses. One has to strengthen the mind by use of intelligence. If by intelligence one engages one's mind in Krsna consciousness, by complete surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then, automatically, the mind becomes stronger, and even though the senses are very strong, like serpents, they will be no more effective than serpents with broken fangs. But even though the soul is the master of intelligence and mind, and the senses also, still, unless it is strengthened by association with Krsna in Krsna consciousness, there is every chance of falling down due to the agitated mind.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Sunday Feast!

Hare Krishna!

For questions or more information, contact us or call (614) 421-1661

ISKCON COLUMBUS
379 West 8th Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43201