EN: Our friend Danilo from Czech Republic is visiting us. Two days ago he came out to Imlitala (in the countryside). That day and yesterday we worked in the garden and in the forest, clearing the path to the forest lake. The weather was splendid and we took a bath among the white waterlillies in the above mentioned spiritual lake Sri Radha-kunda. Yesterday evening we went in to the city again. Today it's 17 days left until Gurumaharaj comes to Gothenburg, more info here. SV: Vår vän från Tjeckien är här på besök. För två dagar sedan kom han ut till Imlitala (på landet). Den dagen och igår jobbade vi på gården och ute i skogen, med att röja stigen upp till skogssjön. Vädret var fantastiskt och vi badade bland de vita näckrosorna i den ovan nämnda andliga sjön Sri Radha-kunda. Igår åkte vi tillbaks till stan igen. Idag är det 17 dagar tills Gurumaharaj kommer till Göteborg, mer info här. Retrospect from our picture archive/Tillbakablick i vårt bildarkiv: Our friend Adam who used to live with us now lives in Mexico. The first picture is from here last year and the second picture is from Mexico a couple of months ago.
EN: I don't have much time to write today, sorry.. But i can tell you that it's 20 days left until Gurumaharaj comes to Gothenburg. You can find more information on our webpage that was updated today. http://www.nimai.info/ Må kraften vara med er när ni försöker leva i kärlek! SV: Jag har inte mycket tid att skriva idag, ledsen.. Men jag kan berätta att det är 20 dagar kvar tills Gurumaharaj kommer till Göteborg. Du kan hitta mer information på vår nätsida som uppdaterades idag. http://www.nimai.info/ May the force be with you when you try to live in love!
Retrospect from our picture archive/Tillbakablick i vårt bildarkiv: Raivata the troubadour, playing on a flute, early last year./Trubaduren Raivata, spelandes på en flöjt, tidigt förra året.
EN: Vasudeva found wisdom on the backside of a bus ticket. There was one quotation from a roman philosopher and a chinese saying. The quotation went as follows:
"Work as if you would live forever. Love as if you would die today." This is vedic wisdom and the fact that it could be found on a bus ticket shows us that the vedic wisdom is universal. This specific aphorism reminds us to think about the consequences of our actions, meaning we must act according to the knowledge that we are eternal souls encaged in temporary, material bodies. This realization is actually the first step in Yoga. Then the aphorism continues to tell us that if we are eternal, and we have a responsibility for our deeds then better act lovingly in this world. Just think about it, if you were to be judged for your dealings with others, lets say at your funeral, what would you like people to say about you? Your love is needed. We have love, but we tend to give it to our body, to sex, drugs, tv, you name it. But it is rare in this world that someone arranges his/her life in such a way that he/she can dedicate her/his day for the happiness of others. The chinese saying went as follows:
"If you think too long about your next step, you will have to spend your life on one leg."
This is very obvious, start right now to devote yourself to love. Go vegetarian, and so forth..
SV: Vasudeva hittade visdom på baksidan av ett busskvitto. Det var ett citat från en romersk filosof och ett kinesiskt ordspråk. Citatet lyder som följer:
"Arbeta som om du skulle leva i evighet. Älska som om du skulle dö idag."
Detta är vedisk visdom och det faktum att man kan hitta det på ett busskvitto visar att den vediska visdomen är universell. Denna specifika aforism påminner oss om att tänka på våra handlingars följder, vilket betyder att vi måste handla enligt kunskapen om att vi är eviga andesjälar inburade i tillfälliga, materiella kroppar. Detta förverkligande är faktiskt det första steget i Yoga. Aforismen fortsätter och berättar att om vi är eviga och måste ta ansvar för våra handlingar så borde vi handla kärleksfullt i den här världen. Tänk efter, om du skulle bli dömd efter hur du var mot andra, till exempel på din begravning, hur skulle du vilja att andra pratade om dig? Din kärlek är behövd. Vi har kärlek, men vi tenderar att ge den till våra kroppar, till sex, till droger, tv, du vet själv. Men det är sällsynt i den här världen att någon ordnar sitt liv på ett sätt så att han/hon kan dedikera sin dag åt att göra andra lyckliga.
Det kinesiska ordspråket lyder så här:
"Om du tänker för länge på nästa steg, kommer du att få tillbringa livet på ett ben."
Detta är väldigt uppenbart, börja nu direkt med att hänge dig åt kärlek. Bli vegetarian, och så vidare..
EN: Today we closed the Nimai house for some hours and went out to our place Imlitala in the country side to work on a project that we will keep as a secret until it's finished. It was hard work, that I can tell you. Labor of love. In the evening we went back and studied the Bhagavad-gita, an illuminating scripture. SV: Idag stängde vi Nimaihuset för några timmar och åkte ut till vårt ställe Imlitala ute på landet för att jobba på ett projekt som vi kommer hålla hemligt tills det är klart. Det var hårt jobb, så mycket kan jag säga, kärleksfullt arbete. På kvällen åkte vi tillbaka och studerade Bhagavad-gita, en upplysande skrift.
Retrospect from our picture archive/Tillbakablick i vårt bildarkiv: Gurumaharaj speaks to our god brother Nanda Grama das, November last year/Gurumaharaj talar till vår gudbror Nanda Grama das, november förra året.
Today it's 22 days left until Gurumaharaj comes to Gothenburg. More information here. E-mail us for translation if you need. Idag är det 22 dagar tills Gurumaharaj kommer till Göteborg. Mer information här.
EN: Our friend Elin is working on an art project. It has something to do with roses, so yesterday she came to the Nimai House and took photos of our God cousin Mathuranatha's left arm, for he has a rose tattoo there. I'm curious to see how Elin's project will end up. Hopefully she wants to put it on the Conscious Art webpage. If you want to know what Conscious art is about you can read the manifesto on the page, here is an excerpt: "History shows us that people who are developed in consciousness perform more beneficial activities and have more profound influence on society than people who are ignorant of the art of consciousness. Art (or any activity) without a higher conscious purpose ultimately leads to a lower state of consciousness. This is the root cause of all the problems of life." Yesterday we also had a cooking course in the Nimai House, which resulted in the best apple chutney I have ever tasted. Come by some time, and get more secrets of the spoonrevolution, the vegetarian way. Haribol! SV: Vår vän Elin jobbar på ett konstprojekt, Det har något med rosor att göra, så igår kom hon till Nimaihuset och tog kort på vår Gudkusin Mathuranathas vänstra arm, han har nämligen en rosentatuering där. Jag är nyfiken på hur Elins projekt kommer att se ut när det är färdigt. Förhoppningsvis vill hon lägga upp det på Conscious art-hemsidan. Vill du veta vad Conscious art (medveten konst) handlar om kan du läsa manifestet. Här är lite på svenska om ämnet. Igår hade vi också matlagningskurs på Nimaihuset, vilket resulterade i den godaste äppelchutney jag smakat hittills. Kom förbi någon gång och få reda på mer Skedrevolutions-hemligheter, den vegetariska vägen. Haribol!
EN:Sunday and monday we were out in the countryside. It was nice to see our wonderful place, Imlitala, again. This time Johanna came with us. First day we worked on the farm and the next day we picked different kinds of berries that Johanna will use to make jam. Ulf came by to help us plan how to build a better forest altar for Srimati Radharani. On thursday Maha Hari, Vasudeva and Ulf will construct it. Today I found another devotee rapping for Krishna: SV:På söndagen och måndagen var vi ute på landet. Det var fint att se vårt underbara ställe, Imlitala, igen. Den här gången kom Johanna med oss. Första dagen jobbade vi på odlingen och andra dagen plockade vi olika bär som Johanna ska göra sylt på. Ulf kom förbi för att hjälpa oss planera hur vi ska bygga ett bättre skogsaltare till Srimati Radharani. På torsdag ska Maha Hari, Vasudeva och Ulf föra upp det. Idag hittade jag en till hängiven som rappar för Krishna: Retrospect from our picture archive/Tillbakablick i vårt bildarkiv: Our Nimai deity on the Gaura Purnim festival in Gothenburg, about five months back, showering in yoghurt./Vår Nimai-gestalt på Gaur Purnim-festivalen för ungefär fem månader sedan, duschandes i yoghurt. Today, it's 24 days until Gurumaharaj comes to Gothenburg, more information here. Idag är det 24 dagar tills Gurumaharaj kommer till Göteborg, mer information här.
EN: Today we invite you to the saturday feast, our first in three weeks. The two last saturdays we were not here, but now we are back in full effect. Today it's 27 days until Gurumaharaj comes to Gothenburg. More information here. SV: Idag bjuder vi in till lördagsfest, vår första på tre veckor. De två senaste lördagarna var vi inte här, men nu är vi tillbaka med full kraft. Idag är det 27 dagar kvar tills Gurumaharaj kommer till Göteborg. Mer information här.
Retrospect from our picture archive/Tillbakablick i vårt bildarkiv: Sadhu Maharaj and Gurumaharaj in kirtan (devotional singing). The photo was shot at a mela (yogafestival) in Switzerland in april this year./Sadhu Maharaj och Gurumaharaj i kirtan (hängiven sång). Bilden togs på en mela (yogafestival) i Schweiz i april i år.
EN: Do you usually let your TV eat up your time and energy? For once, turn it off and start to think about what´s important in life. Are you a vegetarian, or do you let others suffer for your own pleasure? Do you use alcohol, drugs or cigarettes and terrorize your surroundings? Your are not the centre of the universe, pal. Come to your senses. http://vwonline.blogspot.com/2006/03/say-no-to-tv.html SV: Brukar du låta din TV äta upp din tid och energi? För en gångs skull, stäng av den och börja tänka efter på vad som är viktigt i livet. Är du vegetarian, eller låter du andra lida för din egen njutnings skull? Använder du alkohol, droger eller cigaretter och terroriserar din omgivning? Du är inte universums centrum, kompis. Ta ditt förnuft till fånga. http://www.vrinda.se/visdomar/teve.html
EN: Now we are open again, so welcome here! Tonight is the Bhagavad-gita course, tomorrow; movie evening and on saturday; the feast as usual... SV: Nu har vi öppnat igen, så välkomna hit! Ikväll är Bhagavad-gita-kursen, imorgon filmkväll och på lördag fest som vanligt...
EN: Today me and Vasudeva came back to the Nimaihouse. We had a very nice trip from Berlin. On the bus we met a boy who has read the Bhagavad-gita and is interested in finding God. He lives in the Czech Republic and studies art. We exchanged contacts and hope to see him again. Brahma will come here in about two weeks. First he will go from Berlin to Nandafalva in Hungary. Tomorrow the Nimai House will be open again, welcome! SV: Idag kom jag och Vasudeva tillbaka till Nimaihuset. Vi hade en väldigt trevlig resa från Berlin. På bussen träffade vi en kille som har läst Bhagavad-gita och är intresserad av att hitta Gud. Han bor i Tjeckien och studerar konst. Vi bytte kontakter och hoppas på att få träffa honom igen. Brahma kommer hit om ett par veckor. Först ska han resa från Berlin till Nandafalva i Ungern. Imorgon öppnar Nimaihuset igen, välkomna!
We want to share with you one more video from Berlin, where Gurumaharaj is leading a kirtan/Vi vill dela med oss av en till video från Berlin, där Gurumaharaj leder en kirtan:
EN: Yesterday the big Ratha Yatra festival took place in India. Here is an article by Vasudeva das, where he explains what this festival is about. SV: Igår hölls den stora Ratha Yatra-festivalen i Indien. Här är en artikel (endast på engelska) av Vasudeva das, där han förklarar vad den här festivalen handlar om. Ni som inte kan engelska kan i alla fall kolla in filmerna. :)
The carts of Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra at the original festival in Jagannath Puri, north east India.
The Krishna-children performed in a mini format, together with the bigger ones of Krishnas children, a thousand year old tradition called Ratha Yatra that is performed for Lord Jagannath by millions of belivers. This festival harmonizes all different kinds of faith and everyone can participate and pull the cart of Lord Jagannath, his brother Baladev and their sister Subadra. The name "Jagannath" means Lord of all the worlds, of the universe and universes.
Lord Jagannath, a very special form of the lord with asmile that goes all the way into your soul.
The original festival
The mini Ratha Yatra from our camera
The meaning of the festival is manifold but the most essential understanding is that you get an opportunity to serve the Lord by pulling him into your heart.
Lord Nimai danced in extasy in the Ratha Yatra festival in Jagannath Puri 500 years ago.
As you might feel when you read this, there is alot more to tell about all this. I mean, we worship God with BIG round eyes and pull him in a cart through the streets, and not only Him, but also his brother and sister! How can this be explained in a theological way? And how is it that the devotees have sooooo much love for him? When really giving it a thought one must come to the conclusion that there is a whole lot we dont know about the rich theological science of India. In whatever the case, if you want to criticize the better read the books first, if you want to practice, better read the books. The spiritual masters in our line has explained all this things in such a beautiful concentrated and poetic way that its a great shame that most of this world is unaware of it.
So it is my hearts desire that this might inspire someone to more closely study the science of Krishna-Consciousness and get a glimpse into the wonderous world of devotion.
Haribol!
Gurumaharaj presenting Ratha Yatra in clombian TV-show (in spanish)
EN: Yesterday we went back with the deities from the park to Kurukshetra mandir, but before that there was many things happening in the park. There was for example a small Ratha Yatra (the first film clip), a rap performance (the second film clip) and a fire sacrifice (the third film clip). And then we got back to Kurukshetra, as I said before (the fourth film clip). SV: Igår tog vi tillbaka Gudsgestalterna från parken till Kurukshetra mandir, men innan det hände många andra saker i parken. Det var bland annat ett litet Ratha Yatra (första filmklippet), ett rapp-framträdande (andra filmklippet) och ett eldoffer (tredje filmklippet). Sedan tog vi oss som sagt tillbaka till Kurukshetra mandir (fjärde filmklippet). EN: Gurumaharaj and Haladhara prabhu giving a speech. SV: Gurumaharaj och Haladhara prabhu håller tal.
EN: Mother Mohini makes advertisement for Yoga Inbound, Find out more about Yoga Inbound by contacting us through our webpage. SV: Moder Mohini gör reklam för Yoga Inbound. Du kan få veta mer om Yoga Inbound genom att kontakta oss via vår websida.
EN: I thought out a wordplay for this picture, but it doesn't work in english. SV: Glada gungande gummor...
EN: Quiet far out tattoo... SV: Ganska maxad tatuering...
EN: Mandali prabhu, a very nice devotee, served food in the prasadam imbiss. SV: Mandali prabhu, en väldigt fin hängiven, serverade mat i prasadam-tältet.
We (the Nimaihuset-gang) are still in Berlin./Vi (Nimaihuset-gänget) är fortfarande i Berlin.
EN: Yesterday the festival for the deities started in the Humboldthain park, where they were installed one year ago. On the film clip Krishnananda Acarya is leading kirtan in front of the deities. Later Gurumaharaj spoke about his projects around the world and that people who likes to can go to those places as volunteers. If you want information about this please contact us via our homepage. SV: Igår började festivalen för gudsgestalterna i Humboldthainparken, där de installerades för ett år sedan. På filmklippet leder Krishnananda Acarya kirtan framför Gudsgestalterna. Senare pratade Gurumaharaj om sina projekt runtom i världen och att de som vill kan resa till sådana som volontärer. För mer information om detta, läs här. EN: All glories to Prem Kisor prabhu, a great devotee of Krishna! SV: All ära till Prem Kisor prabhu, en stor hängiven till Krishna!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava spiritual movement founded by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century.
Gaudiya Vaishnavism, or the Gaudiya Vedanta spiritual movement, was preceded by the Advaita Vedanta spiritual movement in the 8th century, which espoused Turiya,or the Fourth Dimension of consciousness (the first three being waking consciousness, dreaming, and dreamless sleep,and the fourth, Turiya, underlying and transcending all three – Awake), in which one realizes Brahman, the impersonal aspect of the Absolute. Gaudiya Vaishnavism is interested in Turiya-titah gopala. This is the Fifth Dimension of consciousness, in which one (additionally) comes face to face with Gopala Krishna, the personal aspect of the Absolute. (Like the narrator of the Bhagavata Purana, Sukadeva Goswami, who is decribed as firmly fixed in Brahman-realization/Turiyah andnondual consciousness, and from there speaking about Krishna's interactivity with his devotees in this Fifth Dimension of consciousness,Turiya-titah gopala.)From God consciousness (the nonduality of Advaita Vedanta) to Krishna consciousness (differentiatednonduality).
Gaudiya Vedantins conclude that Love is greater than ourselves, and it is the greatest aspect of God, one that he himself is motivated by. For them, the nondual consciousness of Vedanta philosophy is realized when we know that we do not belong to ourselves, what to speak of anything belonging to us.
Turiya-titah is the experience of the ultimate reality:
If there is any time at which we can accurately say that something belongs to us, it is when, having given ourselves in love to God, we can say that 'God is ours'. This is the Krishna conception of Godhead, one in which God appears not as God, nor finite souls as finite souls. Both interrelate intimately as Lover and Beloved, Krishna and his Gopis, beyond any sense of each others' ontological reality, yet beyond the material illusion as well. This dimension of Love of Godhead is thus justifiably termed by the Gaudiya Vaisnavas as the Fifth Dimension, turiya-titah, the dimension of the soul's Soul.
The Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition consists of many different branches and missions, with their respective philosophical and practical nuances. It is notorganized, and has maintained its plural nature, having no central authority to preside over its matters.
Philosophical concepts
Living beings
According to Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy (and spirituality in general), consciousness is a symptom of the soul.All living beings – souls – are distinct from their current body. Souls which are captivated by the illusory nature of the world (Maya) are repeatedly reborn among the various species of life in accordance to level of consciousness, the laws of karma, mentality, and individual desire. This is consistent with the concept of samsara found throughout Hindu belief.
Release from the process of samsara, known as moksha, is believed to be achievable through a variety of spiritual practices. However, within Gaudiya Vaishnavism it is bhakti – devotion – in its purest state (or "pure love of God") which is given as the ultimate aim, rather than mere liberation from the cycle of rebirth: a post-liberated existence in loving interaction with God, the Personal Absolute.
Supreme Person (God)
See also: Svayam Bhagavan
One of the defining aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is that Krishna is worshiped specifically as the source of all Avataric incarnations of God, the Personal Absolute. This is based on quotations from the Bhagavata Purana, such as "krsnāstu bhagavan svayam", literally "Krishna is God Himself", and the fact that Krishna in Bhagavad Gita – one of the three canonical texts of Vedanta – is speaking from that perspective.
Inconceivable oneness and difference
Main article: Achintya Bheda Abheda
A particularly distinct part of the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy espoused by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the concept of Achintya Bheda Abheda, which translates to "inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference" in the context of the soul's relationship with Krishna.
In quality, the soul is described as being identical to God, but in terms of quantity individual souls are said to be infinitesimal in comparison to the unlimited Supreme Being. The exact nature of this relationship (being simultaneously one with and different from God) is inconceivable to the human mind, but can be experienced through the process of bhakti yoga.
This philosophy serves as a meeting of two opposing schools of Hindu philosophy, pure monism (God and the soul as one entity) and pure dualism (God and the soul as separate). In practice, Gaudiya Vaishnavism, or Gaudiya Vedanta, has more in common with the dualistic schools, but this "dualism" is experienced as difference rather than separateness: a dynamicmonism, recognizing the obvious facts of "the many" and the difference, without disregarding the oneness. As in the Upanisadic statement "eko ham bahu shyam" –"Although I am one, I shall become many".
Devotional activities
Bhakti Yoga
Main article: Bhakti Yoga
The practical process of devotional life is described as bhakti or bhakti-yoga.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu compares the process of bhakti yoga to that of cleansing a mirror from dust, wherein our consciousness is the object in need of purification.This purification takes place largely through the chanting and singing of Krishna's names, which are understood as non-different from Him – the Absolute and the names of the Absolute are one, and associating with the transcendental sound vibration of these names transforms the practicioner's consciousness and attunes it to Him. Specifically the Hare Krishna mantra is chanted and sung by practitioners on a daily basis, sometimes for many hours each day.
We are still writing from Berlin./Vi skriver fortfarande från Berlin.
EN: Yesterday evening Gurumaharaj performed the Gaura arati ceremony, with BIG ghee lamps and many flowers...SV: Igår kväll förättade Gurumaharaj Gaura arati-ceremonin, med STORA ghi-lampor och många blommor... EN: Earlier that day there was a fire sacrifice (agni hotra) in the temple room. SV: Tidigare samma dag var det ett eldoffer (agni hotra) i tempelrummet...
EN: Amara prabhu is an expert at performing this kind of ceremony, which he learned in south India. SV: Amara prabu är expert på att utföra den här typen av offer, vilket han lärt sig i södra Indien.
EN: Yesterday we went out with Gurumaharaj on the streets of Berlin and sang the names of Sri Krishna for the benefit of all. SV: Igår gick vi ut med Gurumaharaj på Berlins gator och sjöng Sri Krishnas namn för allas välfärd. EN: It sounded like this: SV: Det lät så här:
EN: Meanwhile, Brahma and Vasudev, the sankirtan heroes spoke to people on the street, probably about vegetarianism and other important topics. SV: Under tiden pratade sankirtanhjältarna Brahma och Vasudev med folk på gatan, antagligen om vegetarism och andra viktiga ämnen. EN: Some time after we came back to Kurukshetra mandir, one Guru named Krishnananda Acarya arrived from Hungary which made everyone happy. SV: En stund efter att vi kommit tillbaka till Kurukshetra mandir anlände, från Ungern, Guru:n Krishnananda Acarya, vilket gjorde alla lyckliga.
EN: Yesterday Gurumaharaj arrived at the airport here in Berlin... SV: Igår anlände Gurumaharaj till flygplatsen här i Berlin... EN: Many devotees gathered at the gate where Gurumaharaj would come out. SV: Många hängivna samlades vid gate:en där Gurumaharaj skulle komma ut.
SV: A sweet little chat before we got in the cars and went back to Kurukshetra mandir. EN: En ljuv liten pratstund innan vi satte os i bilarna och åkte tillbaka till Kurukshetra mandir.
EN: In the evening Gurumaharaj gave a class on faith and what it means to be rational, inspired by a book called "Gaudiya Kantahara" compiled under the guidance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. SV: På kvällen gav Gurumaharaj en lektion om tro och vad det innebär att vara rationell, inspirerad av en bok med namnet "Gaudiya Kantahara" som sammanställts under ledning av Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.
