Rama-navami continued, April 16, New Dvaraka, Los Angeles

 Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Caitanya-caritamrta, Ramachandra  Comments Off on Rama-navami continued, April 16, New Dvaraka, Los Angeles
Apr 192016
 

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Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya 9.178 – 194.

“Srila Prabhupada raised the question, ‘Why do we call this building a temple and that building, an ordinary houses?’ He said, ‘In this house, we are living. And the next house, they are also living. So what is the difference? The difference is that here, Krishna is the center. Therefore it is temple. And next door, a house. That is the difference between house, ordinary house, and temple. This is also made of bricks and stones and wood, and that is also made of bricks and stones. They also live, they also cook, they also eat. Everything is the same, practically. But the difference is that there is no Krishna, and here is Krishna. That is the difference.” The temple is spiritual because everything is engaged in the service of the Lord. Even the physical body when fully engaged in the service of the Lord becomes spiritual. When we engage them in the service of the Lord, material things become spiritual. And conversely, if we want to use something spiritual which is meant for the service of the Lord—which is really everything that exists—for our sense gratification, it becomes material. So, Ravana kidnapped Sitadevi to enjoy her, but he didn’t get the spiritual Sita; he got the maya Sita.”

Rama-navami continued, Los Angeles

Rama-navami Evening, April 8, Houston

 Lectures, Ramachandra  Comments Off on Rama-navami Evening, April 8, Houston
Apr 102014
 

sita-rama-forest-2It is stated that in Satya-yuga demons and devotees lived on different planets; in Treta-yuga demons and devotees lived on the same planet but in different families—like Dasarstha and Janaka on the one hand and Ravana on the other; in Dvarapa-yuga devotees and demons appeared in the same family—like the Kauravas and the Pandavas; and in Kali-yuga the divine and demonic propensities reside in the same person. Unfortunately, we almost all have that experience. We have love in our hearts, Krishna in our hearts, but unfortunately, we also have Ravana—that lusty, greedy, angry entity. So the question is: Are we going to follow Rama, or are we going to follow Ravana? The idea is that we can use even anger in the service of the Lord. We should use the anger in our heart and say, ‘I am not going to take this misbehavior anymore. I am not going to chase after this or that, do this or do that. I am not going to tolerate it.’ In this way we can make progress.

Rama-navami Evening Kirtan
Rama-navami Evening Talk

Rama-navami Sunday Program, March 28

 Lectures, Ramachandra  Comments Off on Rama-navami Sunday Program, March 28
Apr 052010
 

02-Rama-navami.jpgGiriraj Swami spoke on the appearance of Lord Ramacandra at the San Diego temple on Sunday, March 28.

“Krishna and Rama come to show us who They are and how attractive They are, so that instead of running after the temporary, illusory objects of the material world, which will never satisfy us, we can be attracted to Them, desire to have a relationship with Them, and realize Their presence in our lives. That will satisfy us, make us happy, and bring us the peace that we all want.

Srimad-Bhagavatam says, anugrahaya bhaktanam. ‘The Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, and He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him.’ The Supreme Being descends in a humanlike form to attract people in human forms to His activities, to inspire them to enter into a relationship with Him, which alone will satisfy them.

“When I say ‘Him’ I could more properly say ‘Them,’ because we always appreciate the Lord with His energy. The two together – Sita and Rama, or Radha and Krishna – are the complete conception of the Absolute Truth, and we can enter into a personal, living, loving relationship with Them, a relationship we can experience every moment of our lives.

“We can develop our relationship with Them by hearing about Them. We often want to enter into a relationship with someone because we have heard or read something about them – or seen them or a picture of them – and we think that we would like to get to know them. The Lord comes, and great sages record descriptions of His appearance, His activities, His qualities, and His relationships, so we become attracted: ‘Oh, I would like to have a relationship with Him.'”

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Dipavali

 Dipavali, Lectures, Ramachandra  Comments Off on Dipavali
Oct 222009
 

Sita-Rama in the Forest2.jpg

On October 17, on the auspicious occasion of Dipavali, or Diwali, in Houston, Gririaj Swami read and discussed two important verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.10.53, 51) describing the pastimes of Lord Ramacandra. “Kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara: Krsna descends in this Kali-yuga in the form of His holy name–Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. If we chant offenselessly, Rama and Krsna are still present in this age. The kingdom of Rama was immensely popular and beneficial, and the spreading of this Hare Krsna movement can immediately introduce a similar situation, even in this Kali-yuga. . . . If people take to this sankirtana movement of chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Rama, they will certainly be freed from the contamination of Kali-yuga, and the people of this age will be happy, as people were in Satya-yuga, the golden age.” (SB 9.10.53 purport, SB 9.10.51 purport)

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