Sripad Aindra Prabhu was a revolutionary! A white American who changed the face of Kirtan for hundreds and thousands by living in India, specifically Vrindavan for the last 24 years of his life.
The specialty about kirtans in Vrindavan is becoming the epic centre of talent and this was all the inspiration of Aindra Das. He made Kirtan very joyous, attractive and pure.
By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and my spiritual masters, I went for my weekly religious class at Taiping prison. The class was for Block B death sentenced inmates. During the class, one of the inmates told me that Kripa Murthi Krishna Das, a disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami had received an appointment with court to have his sentence reviewed. Only 2 weeks ago I received a phone call from Kripa Muthi who is in Seberang Perai(Jawi) prison informing me of the good news.” Prabhu…If the judge gives me 40 years sentence, I have to spend only a year and will be free then.
When Charles asked his son and daughter-in-law a Hare Krishna couple to move in with him, he knew he’d have to adapt, but his reward was more than he could ever imagine.
It was a momentous winter’s day when Descartes sat down with the sole intention of demolishing all of his opinions. Descartes began by rejecting all knowledge gained from the senses, as the senses sometimes deceive. He concluded that whereas the empirical sciences can be classed as dubious, the abstract sciences such as arithmetic and geometry cannot. However, so determined was he to call into question all of his knowledge, that he conceived of a cunning and powerful demon, who was exerting all of his power to deceive him, even in matters related to the abstract sciences.
Question: Spirituality should be silent and sober like in meditation. When devotees sing loudly and dance vigorously, how can such a noisy activity be considered spiritual?
Answer: Sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the holy names of Krishna to the accompaniment of music and dance, is actually meditation in its most profound, potent and practical form. Let’s see how.
October 7, 1972, Berkeley, California
One evening, Srila Prabhupada spoke at the University of California in Berkeley, the heart of the hippie capital. The San Francisco devotees enthusiastically received him and relished his lecture. They prepared barrels of popcorn and distributed it following Srila Prabhupada’s lecture.
“What is that?” His Divine Grace asked.
“Popcorn, Srila Prabhupada,” Jayananda explained. “Would you like some?”
“Yes, give me some,” Srila Prabhupada said.
At least you’ll be saved if you keep with the company of the devotees. Satam prasangan mama virya-samvidah. If you give up the company, then you again become rogues and demons. Therefore you must be satisfied, in whatever condition. “Whatever Krsna has given, that’s all right.” Satisfied. Surrendered to Krsna. And that satisfaction can be achieved only when one is fully surrendered to Krsna. If I have surrendered to Krsna, Krsna has taken my charge, Krsna says, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami, then why shall I bother myself?
After a groundswell of support from ISKCON devotees and leaders, a Samadhi (mausoleum) is being constructed in the sacred land of Vrindavana, India for Srila Prabhupada’s famous early disciple Yamuna Devi.
Yamuna is well-known for singing the Govindam song played at ISKCON temples around the world every morning, for writing the award-winning cookbook Lord Krishna’s Cuisine, and for being an ISKCON pioneer in the UK. She passed away on December 20th, 2011 at the age of 69 due to heart complications.
As we approach the first anniversary of Yamuna-devi’s departure—and the immersion of her ashes in the Yamuna and the dedication of her samadhiin Vrindavan—I thought to share some recollections and reflections on her glorious service, based on my talk at her memorial program in Vrindavan on December 23, 2011.
There is so much to be said about Srimati Yamuna-devi dasi.
The two major car accidents this week (Iskcon devotees in serious car accident in Mayapur, and 5 Iskcon devotees of Mathuradesh leave their bodies in car accident ) have cast a cloud of sadness upon the entire ISKCON movement. I remember ISKCON’s first such car accident, two devotees, Vaidyanath and Maranda, were killed in Arizona in 1970 when a truck pushed their VW off a mountain slope in Arizona. Like the devotees in Mathuradesh, they passed from this world in Krishna’s service.