The development of faith is a fundamental element. From Germany 4/28/2013

Conference.

Dear devotees, receive all my affection from Berlin.

Already in the final days of Europe to start a new adventure through the South American lands. I am very happy to know that I will meet you all very soon. On this journey through Europe and in India we have been able to advance our work in Oidatherapy enough ... to strengthen the presentation of  Faith at all levels. With this we defeat any atheistic position and re-establish the importance of faith in human life. We may wonder if atheism is something new or something that has always accompanied human beings. The answer is that atheism is related to the envy of God, which is older than humanity ... The envy of God is the reason why we are in this material world and it has taken very modern forms .. . But the Asuras of Vedic literature are a clear example of this atheism as they are anti-God in their behavior and are in the form of enemies is nothing else but atheism. Although, in one way or another they ended up worshiping God since they were so dependent upon Him. This is how we confirm that atheism is meaningless. And to understand this further we can ask:

Is there someone who hears my prayers when I'm in trouble? Is there someone who can satisfy my desires? Is there anyone who can show me my mistakes when I have misdirected my desires? Is there anyone who can guide me to the supreme destination? Are there disclosures of Divinity here on earth to know which path leads to transcendence? Is there a fixed law that ultimately protects every living entity? Is there a truth that we can understand? Is there someone that gives us the gift of the Sun and Earth? Is there someone who gave me my individual consciousness and my thirst for love? Is there anyone who really cares for my welfare? Were all the wonders of the world designed to make us happy? Are there tests that we have to go through to  understand the infinite? Is there a destination and use of my ability to have faith in something invisible? Is there a law that teaches us to become responsible for any action we take and do we experience the reaction of the good or bad that we do? Is there a light beyond the light of the sun or the suns? Is there a world dominated by love? Is there a world without anxiety? Is the perfect creation around us have a Supreme Intelligence behind it?

All of the above questions we have like these are knocking on the door of faith. If the conclusion after answering all these questions is that there is a divine reality beyond, then you have to change your way of life that is without meaning and adapt to the transcendental existence. It is very important that there are questions, because our nature is to be inquisitive, and by proper questioning by asking the right questions, we can approach this world where everything is music and dance, where no one forgets the brotherhood of all living beings, where we may fall in love with God and live without committing sin. There are many points of view and concerns and the interesting thing is that for all these questions science has no answer. All that science answers at this level is that it is not within their areas of research ... Even when science says that something does not exist, it's just lack of faith in it ...

So we ask the question: Having faith is good? And of course, it is good ... because the development of faith in others creates even more welfare. Humans are inclined to search for the truth. So there is a tendency to protect the values ​​and protect honesty. But, due to the influence of Kali Yuga, it has become something entirely superficial. Nowadays people only care about maintaining a semblance and appearance of honesty, but in their private life they have lost their values. The show one face in public, but privately they are degraded and carry all respect for themselves instead of others. You can see that is in  the practice politicians, celebrities, wealthy men, traders, etc.. In public they try  to promote protection for life and in private they intoxicate themselves or promote products which claim the lives of others or  harm the life of the planet.

That is pure atheism. That's envy towards God. That's lack of faith and consciousness. The detail that they forget is that no matter how private life may seem to them, God is always fully aware of all this ... You can not keep secrets from God. Therefore, the development of faith is a fundamental element in all levels to confront a crooked society, it enables the realization of their problems and constraints, as well as giving them an opportunity to return to a conscious healthy way of life. So the most important thing is sincerity. The sincere person makes their private life public, they seek transparency and do not wish to hide anything. Sure, it is public, but relatively, not just a publicity show for the world. That in Vaishnavism is called surrender. And then, the law is that if one is not sincere in goodness, you will learn to become sincere the hard way, because karma will take care of showing everything we want to hide for the sake of appearance.

Therefore, my dear ... continue to pray for a life of honesty and transparency.
To enter in connection to the highest faith and surrender in serving the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada. We pray to convey the beauty of  faith to others and help them find meaning in their lives. With these words I say goodbye for today. I thank you all for joining me one more Sunday.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!

Your always well wisher,
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti.

Science and Spirituality 4/21/13 Prague

My dear devotees
First I would like to offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master Srila Prabhupada.

Today I want to talk a little about "Science and Spirituality". This is an issue that has often been treated. "Science and Spirituality" is a very important point, because today we have been in the grip of secular liberation movement. This movement is always presented reasonably because truths are revealed refuting common sense, criticizing the violence that has been committed in the name of religion. But religious people are not blind defenders, they uphold justice. If someone attacks a person's children be they religious he is not going to blindly say: Yeah, go attack them! No, he will also defend, but he will not commit an injustice, or produce any kind of exploitation to anyone. As you know, history has been full of wars, then it would be a good question: Why does this happen? Who is doing these wars? Who is behind all this? Considering that war is the worst thing you can do.

We are enjoying the company of others, as now I am enjoying the company of you this morning, but in war there are sides, and the sides are trying to kill each other. It's a very strange situation. One wonders as you are,how can this happen in the world. There is a very good documentary called "Why We fight" (Why we fight) and analyzes the past 30 wars. And the evidence shows the worst; that everything is done to make money. People are prompted, wars are like a trap, because people do not want war. But when circumstances arise war is prompted and shown as if it is inevitable, then the people become involved. So the motivation for war is materialism, not spirituality. Even the Crusaders, (participants of the Crusades) would rob people and people thought that they would be liberated by them. They were gang of bandits.

We see the full history of wars, which often have been credited for religious purpose. Secular society then came and said that religions are nonsense.

"If they make wars, we do not want to have anything to do with them" Then everyone agreed to this. "Religion should not influence the schools, universities, politics, trade, and is was the beginning of secularism" So if there is no religion What are we to believe? Now we believe in science, scientific discoveries. We believe in the IQ (intelligence quotient) who is smarter here, he who can demonstrate he's smarter than the others, then he can have authority.

So these are the situations that have become very strong in modern thinking. Especially in communist countries, because they have removed religion even from the constitution. So they have no one, or nothing superior that they can obey. Then they give all the credit to science, and then from that derives a famous saying "Do not believe in anything that I can not see" Everyone has their own truth. Then they say: Do what you want, do not restrain yourself because of any imposition of morality or spiritual promises "That was the scenario of the 19th century. But the industrial revolution, and the revolution of information and technology, there is an amazing change that is occurring so quickly. This is fascinating. Kaliyuga is fascinating. We call it the iron age. But iron age is nothing, it is the age of the plastic. The era of digitalization, laser technology, communication of cell phones, one can see the ordinary iron. Sure iron is also used to make weapons, but even through a computer can someone kill another. They have so many ways to torture people. Then Srila Prabhupada came to save us from this confusion. The thing about materialism, through the secular system, they became very powerful. When they were absorbed in some religion at least there was interaction with some kind of call for peace, religious values ​​like forgiveness, charity, items like these. But materialism philosophy is survival of the fittest, they say charity begins at home, I have to make sure things are mine, no matter what I have to do. Added to this there is another phenomenon, secular society puts too much power in the hands of banks for example, and of course in the military.

Humility currently is suffering another war, the war for control of food and money, and is being motivated by greed, so there is not much respect for Mother Earth and for consumers, but the materialism justify this, saying: "This is the world of supply and demand" That's a world of open market, and they say in the material sense they are controlling everything through regulations, then they have many supposed, agencies regulating. But really only one regulation alone that is working, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That is the regulation that makes all resources, go only in one direction, so that today, people who hate religion for causing wars, should hate the banks, they are manipulating through materialistic society.

This is the time to revive the original spirit of true spirituality. This is an urgent matter, see the treasure which was lost in our process of secularization. This process does not come from any religion, it doesn't arise from manipulation of religion, it is indeed the original human need. To find the meaning of life, to find who is the source that gives me my life, and to find put how to engage their love. Because everyone has a lot of love, and if we do not know to whom to give this love, we are not happy. So the question of science and spirituality has become very popular.

My spiritual brother Svarup Damodar was a great scientist and a great devotee. He had contacts at international conferences, invited by Nobel prize winners so that he can give his opinion on spiritual subjects. He accumulated the happy and spiritual support of scientists. He was very successful, he was a representative of Srila Prabhupada, he was handling the truth. After him, Michael Cremo, Druta karma, investigated the archaeological records. He wrote the famous book, The Hidden and Forbidden Archaeology, he wrote many articles here and spoke of the information that is provided in schools about the origin of mankind which is not appropriate and is false. So everyone who goes to school, studying archeology, anthropology, history, all are systematically deceived. In other words, the world is being misled by telling us that humanity came from Africa. Darwin said the whale comes from the bear. He said they the ocean species came first, then mammals, but then why does the whale have a respiratory system like us? Then he said that bears liked fish so much that they went to the ocean and became a whale. What a great speculation. Only speculation. People liked this speculation, because it holds the principle that one must only enjoy there is nothing about a spiritual search.

So the idea that we come here just to enjoy, is a materialistic conception.You need a powerful philosophy if you want to teach people to be servants. In that they are servants. We always have the inner competition of wanting to be servants or wanting to be served. Sometimes even scientists say we are here to serve, but when it comes to science and spirituality they have to reevaluate the terminology of science, what is science really? What is really progress? Is progress in moving money within banks? Or is progress the happiness in people? The question of happiness is very important. Are people happier when they have worked all their lives? When you work in a factory? Are people happy when they celebrate the weekend with alcohol and drugs? This has to be defined. The oida therapy, for example, comes targeting spiritual intelligence that arises when you develop an attitude of gratitude and compassion towards others. Will you be able to do good things for others?
   
We are all very proud to be smart, I always thought in my life that I was intelligent, thankfully I never did the IQ test because perhaps I would of been depressed. Some people may say that when you take a test that test will supposedly tell you your worth. In a materialistic empire you will never have complete knowledge. Worship this is the question, Who are you going to worship? Who are you going to offer yourself to? When will you offer obeisances and say ki jay, who are you going to offer flowers and incense to? Krishna consciousness is very simple, you just have to say something from the bottom of your heart:

"O my lord, Please let me be an instrument of your love."

A prayer and everything changes. Pray, honoring prasadam, so everything changes. And because you have some faith you will have some joy, and you have a responsibility to this joy. Worshipping nature, paramatma or Krishna, Sita Rama, or worships Gauranga, but worship, worship! Give thanks and sing the glories of creation, thanks for everything, do not be sorry, do not get upset by what you have, appreciate what you have and take care of that.

This worship never ends, love the Lord with all your heart, mind and body and utilize for your worship, and from this worship have a beautiful festival. I congratulate the devotees who have made a beautiful center for Radha Gopinath and have decorated so lovingly. I can only congratulate you I know it was not easy, and tests have come and more will come. But by the mercy of our spiritual masters we can continue and we cannot be attached to the results.

A hug from my heart to all.
Your well-wisher
Swami B.A.Paramadvaiti

It's Our Philosophy, Our Way of Reaching Out to Others, Our love 4/14/13 :Italy

Dear devotees
This time I send my message from Italy.

A pilgrim's journey is always full of nice surprises. Sure, there are plenty of difficulties because they are part of life, he who is born, grows old, gets sick and dies. So, whoever expected a smooth life must have two tomatoes in front of their eyes. The theme of the good surprise is that we are all a family and when a new devotee joins we feel that we have really come a giant step closer to our spiritual family. Just with Krishna it is a very large family and every devotee has a connection with Krishna. No matter whether you are a new devotee or a devotee for several years. Both can guide us, surely the more senior and advanced devotees help us more and more so than that are the great Bhagavata param gurus like Srila Prabhupada. I dare to say that most of the preachers, both siksa as diksa gurus are pancaratrikas param param gurus. They are gurus who faithfully follow our Bhagavata param gurus and when they perform their service, they are seen with the same eyes as are the Bhagavata param gurus are seen.

Just this morning I had a long talk with Ramananda prabhu and Mahapurusa das about gurus and sannyasis who failed in maintaining their vows or who were unwilling to continue fighting as sannyasis. That is one thing that seems very shocking and certainly it is very sad but honestly it would be more sad if they had not tried to pursue it. As the example of Srila Prabhupada, when he was asked why there were so much maya in the temples, he replied by saying that the question asked was wrong, we should ask how is it possible that so many temples exist during the rein of Maya in full Kali Yuga.

These devotees, especially siksa gurus, who are opening temples and travel the world who try to spread the messages of the glorious Vaisnavas are doing a huge service. If they ever feel that they can't do it anymore there is most certainly a reason, such as an offense they may have committed, but that does not mean that their service was in vain. Especially if your service was backed by a powerful Bhagavata param guru like Srila Prabhupada. He is behind all those who have preached in his name and whom before Krishna have taken such responsibility.

I've already seen everything, I have seen sannyasis confused about their sannyas and after some contemplation they turned around and returned to resume their vows. Anyway, my mission is to make people happy, not uniformed and desperate people, or worse, irritable people who abuse others. In Krishna consciousness we have two options pravriti marga and nivritti marg. Serve, renouncing many of your whims as well as familial life, nivritti (renunciation of material situations), or the path of pravritti (positive use of material situations)or taking certain facilities and then serving the world with a familiar life.It is true that nivritti marga devotees are respected more because they have more time for others, but this does not mean they are the most successful in their services, as there are many grhasta preachers who have also done wonders.

The sacred sannyas order exists and is intended to point to the devotion that has been in the Gopis who offered up the dust from their very own feet to relieve Krishna from a headache. In our Vrinda family, I am very indebted to the sannyasis, brahmacaris, vishnupriyas, maharanis, grihastas, temple presidents, to all, as well as everyone that gives support from outside, and what to say to those who struggle to keep the principles of the mission. I am continually grateful to all. I also want to say, and please do not panic, but it is my hope that many of my disciples do become spiritual masters and understand the need of the conditioned souls all over the world. I am not in the illusion that within the Vrinda family there will be a ton of parama Bhagavata acaryas but I am sure we have many souls who are very sincere and faithful to Srila Prabhupada. And they're going to be those who represent him well and will allow others to have full access to the divine instructions of pure devotees although there is a risk that some of them will fail and the devotees who were connected with this person will have to find a connection with another Vaisnava so they can continue with us in good company.

The phenomenon that touches us when a temple president is leaving the service and we have to find another sincere soul who is willing to continue this responsible position, as Srila Prabhupada said quoting the slogan of Indian Railways: the wheels have to keep moving. That is the movement where the wheels of Gouranga keep moving, do not be superficial, do not be libertines, but donot be offended or disappointed by the failures of others, because that leads one gossip, thus, the recommendation of Srila Prabhupada is to be strict with yourself and be merciful with others.

In conclusion, help me with all your power to spread the message of love of Srila Prabhupada. I'm making a collection of information from projects that were made by Vrinda family anywhere in the world, that have something to offer other preachers, I mean in order to print materials, advertising materials, music recordings, documentaries and I would also like to know the history of each project through telegram, such as who had the idea, who executed it , who cooperated, which part of the project's material is available to date and can be obtained, from whom can you get it, if there is any value to get it what is the value.There is more than 30 years of creativity that I have behind me and I myself have forgotten many things or at least I have no documentation, but some individual devotees do have it. This can include old photos of the early stages.

I want you to review their files and look for good things of the past that might have been forgotten, for example many years ago to the theater "The Burden of Don Jose Slaughterer" a devotee of Miami named Jaya Ram made the first recordings for the protection of animals, remember that one of them was the song "I have a cow" that was used in the presentation of the work in the Media Torta de Bogota. Many plays are lost simply because we have not kept up with such materials. Each individual play is one of those projects that would be sad to forget. I remember one time with mother Vrinda and Laksmi we made a tremendous play about the liberated woman. I instructed a mother in Miami, Ramesvari  to collect Conscious Art and many of the things you report to me qualify to be presented there. Help me please with this collection, especially the old devotees who must have pictures or a good memory. Sure, its mostly things that can be relived, as our churches need a lot of culture and beauty. There are even books that have been printed of which files have been lost. For example when I was in India we were looking for a book of vegetarianism in Hindi published by the Ganga Action Parivar but we did not find the files in order to reprint.

So in Vrinda, we have many files that have been lost but may have a form that can be scanned. For me, the Internet is mostly an archive of valuable things from the past, imagine how we would suffer if Srila Prabhupada conversations had not been recorded or preserved so that today we can hear the nectar of such conversations. For this reason I want to begin this search for things in the past now and protect them better, people often think about today is not worth much but it does the artist may be made famous later? Even the details of the past will be taken into account and although we do not deserve it, we are part of a historical aspect that is called the start in the western part of the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the early beginnings of the WVA. Just as the early restoration of temples in India, like Vrinda Kunja, I believe there doesn't exist too many photos of it.

The principle out of sight, out of mind is used here, of course, there can always be visual saturation or you may not have time, but this is not a reason to refrain from preserving the treasures of the past. I also know that some devotees have collections of old cassettes that have not even been transferred to a digital format. That is also a reason to check, for example Madhava Prakash Maharaj wrote and recorded many songs but they were not recorded in a studio, I think Prabhu Vaisnava should have these cassettes. It's kind of an archaeological work that I'm asking for. Of course, over time the quality of the recordings is much improved.

One of the things that have always been left for later are all the newspaper clippings in which we have been written about, or where we have had radio and television interviews. For example when Srila Harijan Maharaj left, one way or another I can not remember how, he got on Colombian television and they made a tremendous report on his departure. And when it comes to preaching materials, I do not mean only made by Vrinda, I also like to preserve treasures of other missions. And current projects I want basic information that can be identified and who does it. If you know old devotees that may not be connected to the Internet and are not going to read the chat, you can visit them and interview, asking them to show you their old photographs. All these material please send a copy to me and prabhu Pancatattwa so that we know things have been rescued.

We are on track to Rimini Terni, yesterday was a historic day because we made a beautiful fire ceremony on the mountain, San Erasmo, where the Surya Narayan Temple was built 7000 years ago. Before that we did a radio interview and went to the waterfall for Harinam. We then had a program for Mother Earth in our Vrinda center in Terni and then went to a presentation of Radha Dub System where we sang at an old church some bhajans with the group.

This morning we discovered near the temple of Imlitala a beautiful ecological path that devotees did not know that devotees despite living more than 10 years there. Hriday Caitanya Prabhu, who is the builder of Imlitala Centre of Terni, located just next to the temple of Ramananda prabhu, Sringabath, made a new space in the woods behind his house that serves as a theater in the forest .

It is quite remarkable that the devotees in Italy have a long tradition of making some altars in their homes very beautiful much more beautiful than the altars we see in temples, they have love for detail. That is the essence of spiritual life, much love for detail. It is our philosophy, our way of reaching out to other, our love to all. And I hope you that all of you embrace this wish of mine to preserve the love of the past. It is love for those in the future. With this message I say goodbye for today.

Your always well wisher
A big hug for everyone.
Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti

Making our life useful so that service becomes a reality 4/7/13 From Spain

Dear devotees
Receive all my love today ...

Today I want to talk about the reality of life. In our practical life we experience how the sankirtan movement takes effect, as the chanting of the Holy Names is a reality in itself ... and the presence of each of you today in this chat is a reality. You are all part of this reality. The special service that each of you perform so beautifully is a reality and going to another level, we sing a bhajan today remembering Narada Muni singing the glories of Sri Radha and Krishna and all those around such as Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva, are also a reality ... of course it is a reality that we fail to perceive completely, but still, those are very elevated entities, jivas are also living their reality.

We are all jivas living a reality. Nothing is impossible, any of you can become a Brahma or Shiva in one of your lives ... Anything can happen. But the essence behind it all is to know what we are really doing in the reality of our own lives. And to link others in serving Krishna and the devotees is another reality, an artful reality :) So call us beggars of love, because we want to beg people to make Krishna Consciousness the reality of their own lives . I really love this and I love working with people who are really convinced of what they are doing or have deep feelings for the service they do. Unlike large enterprises, which have thousands of workers who do what they have to do because they get paid for it, but none of them dance with joy in their daily reality, because they only remain there for money ...

Devotees live a different reality apart from any other.A most beautiful reality. Happiness and devotion of the devotees can not be bought even with the highest bid ... We are not looking to get paid for what we do, the devotees are paid much higher ... They are in the business of mercy. And the payment they receive is even more mercy, because mercy is manifested only when there is a sincere desire for it. And as Narada Muni is dancing in ecstasy while singing the glories of Radha Raman, the creator of the world, Brahmaji also joins this dance and the destroyer of the world, Sri Shiva, also joins this ecstatic dance ... Ananta Sesa even joins this wonderful dance.

So we too can be part of this dance, because if we are connected to Krishna life completely becomes a dance of ecstasy. Without Krishna life has no ecstasy. Without spiritual idealism or service rendered, there is no real taste in life. So our life has to become the reality of intense dedication that will make us feel great pleasure and ecstasy. How to identify this ecstasy? For it is a pleasure to be here with all of you, to know with the heart, each of these wonderful people, and serving Krishna together, with you ... the ecstasy to make a magazine offering to Srila Bahktisiddhanta Sarasvati with the help of Damodarastaka dd.

Ecstasy to make and maintain Web pages for Krishna, as do members of our offices in different countries. So selflessness and full devotion in service should become the reality of  our every day.

Appreciate our brothers and sisters, making them feel part of the family of Srila Prabhupada and serve alongside them, must become our reality. Caring for our Ishtadev offerings, protecting them, the organic quality and the conscious use of them and products free of animal abuse, it must become a reality. Protecting Mother Earth which is a manifestation of the Mother Supreme, reality must be active in each of us. We must prepare our lives so that, in one way or another, it becomes a tool that allows others to adhere more attachment for Krishna. That is the greatest gift we can give. That is the reality we must share with others. So, today we pray to Narada Muni, Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and Ananta Sesa who have faith in the holy name of the Lord to inspire our own existence.

Remember that we are in a position of constant danger that can make us forget the holy name of Krishna, as there is a natural tendency (due to illusion) to feel no attraction for him. And if we set aside chanting the holy names of Krsna our lives become miserable once again. Some might say "my life is miserable even in Krishna Consciousness." Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote about it and said that sometimes it appears that life with the devotees becomes something unbearable, but the material life is even worse. Sometimes it seems as if to live with the same people in the same place would be unbearable and you want to have your own space ... But what do you do? It's these experiences that we have to go through to learn to be tolerant.Either way, apparently that which is intolerable in any detail of our spiritual life is actual nectar compared to materialistic life. In life, sometimes you may feel you cannot stand someone in particular for some half stupid reason, but that person is with you all the time, you eat and live in the same place ... There is nothing to do but endure.

Life is full of half stupid situations that disturb our happiness and our devotional practice. However so many seemingly unbearable situations that  are there to help us advance spiritually. And if you have a strong position, remember it is just a service that should be offered to the feet of Srila Prabhupada, because anyone can become a temple president under any circumstances. Services are all very difficult, but no one is indispensable ... anyone can do it and  become qualified. I ask you all of you who live in temple a question: Do you feel that like is worse now that what you experienced before? Someone can risk saying, what is the worst that I have lived? Or Is it indeed much better than many of the things that have happened before? In actuality, nothing is so terrible. Rather we have to concentrate and meditate on the essence of this chat:
In making our life useful so that service becomes a reality in our life.

When I was a brahmacari and I first traveled to India I did not have any outstanding service to attend to during that time of parikrama, it was a full month, during Kartik, of just parikrama and I was beginning to become desperate not having fixed services. So after parikrama ended, I quickly returned to my service area and I felt so useful. Well, being in a place and not having much to do is not a fufilling life. We can not be lazy. Laziness is boring and it is the opposite of becoming responsible. We do not want to be the cause of the problem, rather we want to contribute to the solution of a problem and often times one can not give a complete solution, but at least we try not to be part of the problem in one way or another.
With these words I leave the chat today.

I deeply appreciate all of you who, week after week, still connect through this window to receive the message that keeps us encouraged in serving Srila Prabhupada. We pray for the protection of Sri Nrsimha Dev on our path to the service of the lotus feet of Sri Radha-Krishna and the Vaishnavas.
Sri Harinam sankirtan yagna, ki jay
All glories to the assembled devotees.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Your always well wisher, 
Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti