Krishna

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born in Mayapur in the town of Nadia, just after sunset on the evening of the 23rd Phalguna 1407 Shakabda, corresponding to February 18th, 1486 of the Christian Era. The moon was eclipsed at the time of His birth, and the people of Nadia were then engaged, as usual on such occasions, in bathing in the Bhagirathi (Ganges River) with loud cheers of “Haribol!” His father, Jagannath Mishra, was a poor Brahmana (priest) of the Vedic order, and His mother Sachidevi was a woman of ideal character. Both descended from Brahmana families originally residing in Sylhet.

Ms.Nixon: One of the most difficult aspects of Krishna consciousness for an outsider to accept is the Deity in the temple -- how it represents Krishna.

Could you talk a little bit about that?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes.

At the present moment, because you have not been trained to see Krishna, He kindly appears before you so you can see Him.

You can see wood and stone, but you cannot see what is spiritual.

Suppose your father is in the hospital, and he dies.

Godess Parvati said to Lord Shiva "My dear husband, You know all the transcendental truths, and by your mercy I have heard the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. Oh Lord, now I long to hear from You the glories of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, which was spoken by Lord Krishna, and by hearing which, one’s devotion to Lord Krishna increases"

During the bright and dark fortnights of every month, from ekādaśī until the full-moon day, and from ekādaśī until the new-moon day, there is an increased high tide in the oceans, and the waves rise very high. This is because the moon comes somewhat closer to the Earth and pulls the water towards itself by force of gravity. Ninety percent of the human body is fluid in nature. The moon has a strong influence on water during the above-mentioned days.

The month of Kartika has descended upon us like a divine blessing, gracing us with its holiness and purity. This is the time when the heavens themselves seem to shine upon us, and the atmosphere is infused with love and devotion. Kartika is the cherished month of our beloved Lord Krishna and His eternal love, Srimati Radharani.

We are now in the month of Damodara. It began on the full-moon night and will continue until the next full moon. Damodara is a name for Krishna. Dama means “rope,” and udara means “belly.” So Damodara means, “one who is bound around the belly with ropes.” And you can see in the picture of Lord Damodara with Mother Yasoda that she was binding His belly with ropes. The history behind the incident is that Mother Yasoda was feeding baby Krishna with her breast milk when suddenly some milk on the fire began to boil over. So, she set aside Krishna to attend to the milk on the fire.

Lord Krishna’s main message in the Bhagavad-gita is clear: He wants us to fully surrender to Him. The most vital part of the Bhagavad-gita deals with the advice Lord Sri Krishna gives to Arjuna on the surrendering process. One of the dictionary meanings of surrender is “to give (something) up voluntarily to another.” Lord Krishna’s simple words of advice on surrendering are easy to understand. So why do most people, including those of us practicing Krishna consciousness, not fully surrender to the Lord?

APPEARANCE Sri Baladeva is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. He is equal in supremacy to the Supreme Godhead, yet wherever Krishna appears, Sri Baladeva appears as Krishna’s brother, sometimes elder, sometimes younger. In his vaibhava-prakasa feature, Lord Krishna manifests Himself as Balarama. The Balarama feature is as good as Krishna Himself, the only difference being that the bodily hue of Krishna is dark and that of Balarama is fair. These two Lords, Krishna and Balarama, are each the seed and womb of the universe, the Creator and His Creative potency.

One of the most important days in a person’s life is his Birthday. This day is celebrated and cherished by everyone with special treats and gatherings from families and friends. Generally a Birthday is celebrated by cutting a well decorated and nicely prepared cake, by blowing the candles and making a wish. Then friends and family wish the person whose birthday is being celebrated followed by drinks, eating and partying with music and dance. This constitutes a successful Birthday Party.

Why an exalted devotee asked Lord Krishna to keep putting her into dangerous situations?

Most people worship God with a material motive. As Lord Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita (7.16), such people can broadly be classified into four groups: the distressed, the needy, the inquisitive, and those searching for knowledge of the Absolute. In most cases, they stop their worship as soon as they obtain their objective. They regard God as someone who can lessen their miseries and make their lives happy and peaceful.