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X-WR-CALNAME:ISKCON Punjabi Bagh,
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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for ISKCON Punjabi Bagh,
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DTSTART:20240101T000000
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240402
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240403
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240302T052653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240404T073541Z
UID:33916-1712016000-1712102399@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Appearance Day of Sri Srivasa Pandita 2nd April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Srivasa Pandita\, or Srivasa Thakura\, was a member of the Panca- tattva\, consisting of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His four immediate expansions and energies.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/appearance-day-of-sri-srivasa-pandita-2nd-april-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240405
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240406
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240302T052901Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240406T101216Z
UID:33919-1712275200-1712361599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Papamochani Ekadashi 5th April 2024
DESCRIPTION:The venerable glories of Papamocani Ekadasi are given in the Bhavisyottara Purana\, during a conversation between Sri Krsna and Maharaja Yudhistira.\nThe eldest of the pandavas\, Yudhistira\, asked Lord Krsna. “O Lord\, You have kindly narrated the glories of Amalaki Ekadasi. Now please describe unto me the details of the Ekadasi which occurs during the waning Moon in the Chaitra month (March/April) What is this Ekadasi called\, and what is the procedure for observing it?” \nLord Krsna replied: “O unrivalled King\, this Ekadasi is known as Papamocani\, please listen carefully as I describe it’s glories unto you. In the dim recesses of the misty past this Ekadasi was discussed between the Sage Lomasa and King Mandata. This Papamocani Ekadasi falls during the waning Moon in the month of Chaitra. By carefully observing this Ekadasi day all one’s sinful reactions will be nullified\, one need never fear taking birth as a ghost; it can also award eight kinds of mystic perfection.” \n“The great Sage known as Lomasa said: ‘In an ancient time\, Kuvera\, the treasurer of the demigods\, boasted a heavenly forest known as Caitraratha. The weather was always pleasant there\, and exhibited an eternal springtime atmosphere. Many heavenly society girls such as the Gandharva’s and Kinnaras would come to that celestial forest to enjoy sporting in it’s blissful surroundings. King Indra and many other demigods would also come there to enjoy many varieties of exchanges. \n“There was also a sage known as Medhavi residing in the forest; he was a staunch devotee of Shiva and was engaged in performing great austerities. The Apsaras\, or heavenly dancing girls tried to disturb the sage in various ways. Of all the Apsaras one was most celebrated and famous\, her name was Manju Ghosh and she devised a cunning plan to captivate the mind of the sagacious saint. She built a house situated just near to the sage’s ashrama and began to sing sweetly whilst playing enchanting melodies on a Vina. Upon witnessing Manju Ghosh’s salubrious beauty\, adorned as she was with sandalwood pulp\, fragrant garlands and divine ornaments\, the cupid who is a forsworn enemy of Lord Shiva tried to conquer the sage by way of revenge against Lord Siva. The cupid had once been burnt to ashes by Lord Shiva and thus remembering this previous insult conspired to humiliate Shiva’s devotee. \n“He entered the body of the sage Medhavi just as Manju Ghosh approached him playing on her vina\, singing sweetly and casting seductively arrowed glances from the quiver of her eyes. The sage Medhavi became intoxicated with desire and enjoyed with the beautiful Apsara for many years. So absorbed he was in enjoying in this way he lost all sense of time\, even the ability to discriminate between day and night. \n“Henceforth\, when Manju Ghosh grew tired of the Medhavi sage\, she decided to return to her own abode. She said to Medhavi\, ‘O great sage please allow me to return to my home in the heavenly planets.’ \n“The sage replied: ‘O beauty incarnate\, you have only arrived here in the evening\, at least stay until morning and then depart.’ Upon hearing these words Manju Ghosh became frightened and stayed with Medhavi for a few more years. In this way although she stayed with the sage for fifty-seven years\, nine months and three days\, it still only appeared to the Sage to be half a night. Manju Ghosh asked again for permission to leave but the sage replied: “O attractive one\, This is only morning\, please wait until I have completed my morning rituals.” The beautiful Apsara then smiled and said: ‘O great sage\, how long will your rituals take? Have still not finished yet? You have been enjoying with me for many years\, please consider the actual value of time.’ On hearing these words the Sage came to his senses and realised the length of time that had passed. ‘Alas\, O beautiful lady\, I have simply wasted fifty-seven years of my valuable time. You have ruined my life\, spoiled all of my austerities and condemned me to madness!’ The eyes of the Medhavi Sage filled with tears and his body convulsed as he cried. Raising his head\, his eye’s turned red with anger\, and in a fearsome voice he cursed Manju Ghosh with the following words: “O evil one\, you have behaved with me exactly like a witch. Therefore you will immediately become a witch\, O sinful unchaste Lady! Shame on you.’ \n“After being cursed by the Sage\, Manju Ghosh humbly replied\, ‘O best of the brahmanas! Please withdraw your heavy-duty curse\, I have spent many years in your company\, bringing you pleasure beyond your wildest dreams! Surely for this reason you can forgive me. Please be kind to me.” \n“The sage replied: ‘O gentle one\, What will I do now? You have destroyed my wealth of austerity. Still\, I will give you a chance to free yourself from this curse. The Ekadasi that falls during the waning Moon of the Chaitra month is called Papamocani. If you observe this Ekadasi very strictly\, all your sinful reactions will destroyed and you will be free of this crippling curse.” \n“After speaking these words Medhavi returned to the ashrama of his father\, Cyavana Rsi. As soon as Cyavana Rsi saw his pathetic son he became extremely disappointed: “Alas\, alas my son\, O what have you done? You have are ruined you should not have spoiled yourself in this way.” \n“The young sage Medhavi replied: ‘O father\, I have committed great sins in the company of a beautiful Apsara\, please instruct me how I can be freed from the sinful reactions.’ \n“Cyavana Rsi replied: ‘O my son\, there is an Ekadasi that falls in the waning Moon of the month of Chaitra\, this Ekadasi will destroy all your sinful reactions. Therefore you should follow this Ekadasi but you should know that I am most disappointed in you!” \n“Thereafter\, the sage Medhavi observed Papamocani Ekadasi and regained his elevated status as a sage of great repute. At the same time Manju Ghosh carefully observed Papamocani Ekadasi and got liberated from her accursed form\, regained her bodily attractiveness and returned to the heavenly strata. \n“After narrating this story to King Mandata\, sage Lomasa concluded as follows: ‘My dear King\, anyone who observes this Ekadasi will have all his sinful reactions annihilated. Simply by reading or hearing of this glorious Ekadasi day one achieves the result of donating one thousand cows in charity. All kinds of sinful reactions arising from: killing a brahmana\, killing an embryo\, drinking wine\, and associating with one’s Guru’s wife are completely uprooted by observing Papamocani Ekadasi. Therefore everyone should take advantage of this most auspicious and magnanimous opportune day.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/papamochani-ekadashi-5th-april-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240406
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240407
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240302T053153Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240408T091317Z
UID:33923-1712361600-1712447999@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Govinda Ghosh 6th April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Govinda Ghosh\, an intimate associate of Lord Caitanya\, was known for his sweet kirtanas at the annual Jagannatha Puri Ratha- yatra festival. Lord Caitanya would at once begin to dance whenever Govinda Ghosh would sing.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-govinda-ghosh-6th-april-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240413
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240414
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240302T053404Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240416T133752Z
UID:33925-1712966400-1713052799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Appearance Day of Sri Ramanujacharya 13th April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Ramanujacharya was the principal acarya in the Sri sampradaya\, one of the four main lines of Vaisnava teachers and disciples. His Vedanta-sutra commentary Sri-bhasya establishes the doctrine known as Visistadvaita\, “qualified nondualism.”
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/appearance-day-of-sri-ramanujacharya-13th-april-2024/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240414
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240415
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240302T101653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240416T133758Z
UID:33927-1713052800-1713139199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Beginning of Salagrama and Tulasi Jala Dana 14th April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Starting of Tulasi Jala Dana During the hot season in India\, a pot of dripping water is placed over Tulasi and Salagrama to keep them cool.\nKeshava Vrata starts; for one month one should control the senses\, sleep on the earth\, bath twice daily in a river\, worship the Lord and give cloth\, sugar\, sesame\, rice\, and gold to the brahmanas. If one worships Madhsudana in this month one gains the benefits of one years worship.\nWhile Keshava Vrata lasts one may hang a pot with a hole in it\, fill it with water and drip water over Tulasi and a Shalagrama Shila. \nThis is especially done in the now hot northern hemisphere when water becomes a vital asset for the growth of Tulasi Devi. In the southern hemisphere be careful not to overwater as we come out of Summer and into Autumn.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/beginning-of-salagrama-and-tulasi-jala-dana-14th-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Tulsi.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240417
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240418
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240302T101912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240418T083532Z
UID:33929-1713312000-1713398399@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Rama Navami 17th April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Lord Sri Ramacandra is a powerful incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as an ideal king. He appeared in the Treta-yuga\, more than two million years ago. \nThis is a verse from Brahma-samhita in which the incarnation of Lord Ramacandra is described. Ramadi. Not only Rama\, but there are many other\, innumerable incarnations. They are compared with the waves of a river. As the waves of the river or the waves of the ocean cannot be counted\, similarly\, how many incarnations are there of the Supreme Lord it is not possible to count. But out of them\, the principal names are mentioned in the sastras. Therefore it is said ramadi. Ramadi means Rama and also other\, many incarnations. And they are existing. Not that one incarnation appeared and it is finished. No. Not like that. Just like Lord Ramacandra appeared on this planet\, say millions of years before. He appeared in the Treta-yuga. Treta-yuga means… We have passed only five thousand years of this age\, Kali-yuga. Before that\, there was Dvapara-yuga. Dvapara-yuga means 800\,000 years. And before that\, there was Treta-yuga\, which continued for twelve hundred thousands of years. That means at least two million years before Lord Ramacandra appeared on this planet.  \nramadi murtishu kala-niyamena tishthan\nnanavataram akarod bhuvaneshu kintu\nkrishnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo\ngovindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami \nSo now Lord Ramacandra appeared in Ayodhya. There is a place in Ayodhya\, in northern India. There He appeared. As Krishna appeared in Mathura… That is also northern India. And Mathura is about ninety miles down southward from New Delhi. You have heard the name of New Delhi\, the capital of India. So Ayodhya is also situated about five hundred miles northeast of New Delhi. So Lord Ramacandra appeared on this day. Today is called Sri Rama Naumi. On the ninth day of the moon Lord Ramacandra appeared. His father was the king of Ayodhya\, and he had three wives. So out of… No. He had two wives. So out of two wives he got four sons. Ramacandra is the eldest son. The life and activities of Lord Ramacandra is… [break] …in a book which is called Ramayana. You have heard the name of Ramayana. Ramayana is also accepted as history. Vedic literatures are histories also. \nThe Puranas\, the Srimad-Bhagavatam\, Mahabharata\, and Ramayana\, they are counted amongst the history. The history of Ramacandra is that His father wanted to retire. Dasaratha\, Maharaja Dasaratha. And he decided to enthrone Lord Ramacandra and retire. So everything was settled\, but just one day before\, his youngest wife turned the whole thing into different way. Sometimes Maharaja Dasaratha was suffering from what is called whitlow\, some trouble in the finger? And this queen served him very nicely\, and he was pleased. And he said\, “My dear Sarmishtha\, if you want some benediction from me\, I can give you.” And she replied that “I shall ask you for the benediction when I require it. Not now.” So just one day before Lord Ramacandra’s coronation\, she approached her husband Maharaja Dasaratha and reminded him\, “My dear husband\, you promised to give me some benediction\, and I told you that I shall ask you when I require it.” Maharaja Dasaratha said\, \n“Yes\, I remember. You want some benediction just now?” She said\, “Yes.” “And what is that?” She said that “Ramacandra cannot be seated on the throne. My son should be coronated\, Bharata.” He was surprised. It is a big demand. So he said\, “All right. That will be done. Your son.” Because formerly\, the kings… Not only formerly\, even up to date\, there are many kshatriya kings in India. They have more than one wife. And they are\, naturally\, there is rivalry between different wives. So the same thing. Human psychology is the same. Even two million years ago the same mentality was there\, and she asked that “My son should be the king\, not Ramacandra.” Ramacandra happened to be the son of Kausalya\, the elder queen. \nSo Maharaja Dasaratha agreed and called for Ramacandra. “My dear boy\, your…” She asked also that… She was very diplomatic. She wanted that Ramacandra go to forest for fourteen years. The idea was political\, that “The king may agree to install my son just now. Now\, after a few days\, this Ramacandra may come with His army\, and there may be some difficulty to continue the kingdom.” So she wanted that Ramacandra should go to the forest and He should not come back till the end of fourteen years from this day. So Maharaja Dasaratha agreed. Because he was kshatriya. Just see the promise. \nA kshatriya never goes back from the promise\, never refuses any challenge. If a kshatriya is challenged by somebody\, that “I want to fight with you\,” oh\, he cannot refuse. This is kshatriya spirit. He cannot say that “I am now busy.” Suppose somebody comes to you\, that “I want to fight with you.” You may say\, “What nonsense fight? I have no time. We are in the temple.” But a kshatriya cannot deny that. A kshatriya at once must accept. “Oh\, yes. Come on.” And the weapon should be\, if he has no sword or weapon\, he should be supplied weapon and fight. This is kshatriya spirit. They were highly charitable and chivalrous and keeping promise and with a great tendency for ruling over. They shall rule over. Administrators. Their business is… \nThere are different prescription for different classes of men for their livelihood. The brahmanas\, they can pull on their livelihood by six ways. Pathana pathana yajana yajana dana pratigraha. Six. And they must be qualified with twelve high qualities. We have many times discussed. Out of that qualification\, truthfulness is the first item for a brahmana. A kshatriya may speak lies. That is allowed\, because he has to be diplomat\, politician. But a brahmana\, oh\, he’s not allowed to speak lie. \n This is the system\, caste system or varnasrama system. Everyone was trained. Because these four classes of men are required in a society. For proper upkeep of society\, one class of men must be very intelligent\, highly qualified\, with all good qualities. They must be trained in that way\, ideal character so that people can see and follow them. Therefore brahmanas were taken to so much respect because they’re ideal character\, learned\, and godly\, knows the science\, spiritual science. Therefore they’re held in high estimation and topmost of the society. The next\, the administrator\, administrative class\, kshatriyas. \nThey are trained how to kill. The kshatriyas were allowed to hunt in the forest to learn the art of killing because that was necessity for the kshatriyas. Kshatriya\, if he… If the king\, if he finds somebody is doing wrong\, he can immediately chop off his head if he likes. The king was so powerful. And it is not that if there was some war\, it is not that the president or the king shall sit down comfortably at home and ordinary soldiers will go and lay down their life. No. Formerly\, the king or the head of the state\, he should first of all go there in the fight. You see in the picture\, the chief men of the fighting in the Kurukshetra\, both sides\, they were arrayed\, this side\, that side\, with their chariot. \nNot that the head man\, the chief man\, or the commander is taking shelter back side\, protecting himself\, and poor soldiers are (chuckles) thrown into the fighting. No. These were kshatriya spirit. And it is necessary that a class of men should be trained up in that way\, kshatriya\, fighting men. In India\, because this training was there since a very long time\, so there is no difficulty in recruiting soldiers there. \nThere is a class of men\, they are very much forward in fighting still. They are called… Just like the Gurkhas\, the Nepalese. You have heard the name of Nepal. Still a small state\, independent state. They are not within India. Between China and India. The whole Nepal population\, they are kshatriyas. Oh\, they are very good fighters. Similarly\, the Sikhs\, the Jatas. There are classes. So they’re always forward for fighting. And you’ll be surprised that the British Empire was voluntarily liquidated because they lost India. The Britishers\, they understood that because we are now losing India\, there is no more possibility to keep our eastern empire. Therefore they liquidated. Why? Actually\, the whole British Empire were being administered or managed by Indian soldiers\, these Sikhs and Gurkhas. They extended their empire. After taking their position with India\, they extended British Empire in the Middle East and Far East simply by these Sikhs and Gurkha soldiers. They got supremacy on the Burma and everywhere. \nSo there is necessity of a class of fighting men. You are finding in your country difficulty in recruiting because the recruiting process is wrong. You are recruiting from persons… You are training persons just like sudras\, and you want them to fight. How they can fight? It is not possible. So as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita\, that catur-varnyam maya srishtam guna karma vibhagasah… [Bg. 4.13]. Lord Krishna said that “The four classes or orders of the society\, brahmana\, kshatriya\, vaisya\, sudra\, is planned by Me according to work and quality.” So this kshatriya quality men is also required\, the brahmana quality of men is also required\, the mercantile community\, they are also required\, and the laborer class\, they are also required. Of course\, laborer class\, they do not require any training. Laborer class means one who cannot do anything\, neither become brahmana\, nor become kshatriya\, nor become vaisya. That means the last balance of the population\, they are called laborer class\, sudra. Sudra means one who has no training. Sudra has no samskara. Samskara means training. Everyone is accepted as sudra by birth. Janmana jayate sudra. Janmana means by birth. By birth\, everyone is born a sudra\, a fourth-class man. It is to be accepted\, and actually so. Just like a child\, innocent child\, what does he know? He has to be trained. Either you train him as a brahmana or train him as a kshatriya or train him as a vaisya. Or otherwise\, he is sudra already\, born sudra. Sudra has no training. Everyone\, the basic principle\, basic foreground\, everyone\, it is accepted sudra. Now\, if you train him as a brahmana\, then he becomes a brahmana. If you train him as a kshatriya\, then he becomes a kshatriya. If you train him as a vaisya… So I think this is\, this system is very scientific so that if you want help of a really intelligent man or God realized man\, it is ready\, the brahmana class. Just like if you require the help of a lawyer\, we have got so many lawyers. If you require the help of medical man… Because there are trained men. Similarly\, the society requires to train a certain class of men to become brahmanas. Just like we are training the Krishna conscious. The Krishna consciousness is meant for the brahmanas. \nThey are not meant for fighting because they are not being trained for fighting. They have been trained for becoming brahmanas. Who is brahmana? Brahma janati iti brahmana. The four divisions are described like this. Janmana jayate sudrah\, everyone is born sudra. That is accepted. Samskarad bhaved dvijah. Now if you train him\, never mind in which family he’s born\, you have to train him. Just like boys are sent to school for being trained. So everyone is accepted as sudra\, but you now train him. He goes to the guru-griha. \nGuru-griha means teacher’s house. Formerly\, for being trained\, there was no such big scale school and colleges. Every village… Still\, fifty years before in India\, in every village there was a small school conducted by the brahmana\, and the village children would be trained up there. So he was sent for training. And there was no school fee. The boys will go there\, and on behalf of the teacher or spiritual master\, they will go\, brahmacari\, door to door\, and beg and bring forth alms\, rice\, dahl\, grains\, and everything. That was the system. There was no school fee. There was no problem how to send a boy to the school. Samskara. Now he’s trained up. The teacher sees the psychology of the boy\, in which way he should be trained. Either he should be trained as a vaisya or he should be trained as a kshatriya. So everyone was trained like that\, but generally\, the son of a kshatriya… Just like Maharaja Ramacandra or Arjuna\, from the very beginning they were trained as kshatriya. \nNaturally\, if somebody is the son of a medical man his father trains him to become a medical man in future. That is the natural tendency. If the boy is different altogether that is another question\, but naturally\, that is the tendency. So a kshatriya’s son was trained as kshatriya. A brahmana’s son was trained as a brahmana and a vaisya’s son was trained as a vaisya\, and sudra had no training. So gradually this became a caste system. Brahmana’s son became brahmana. Because formerly\, the training was there. But when it is vitiated\, although a person born in the family of a brahmana\, he is doing the work of a sudra. So according to Vedic scripture\, one is classified according to his work and quality\, not by birth. That is the classification of sastra. Just like in the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says catur-varnyam maya srishtam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. Guna means quality and karma means work. One must be qualified for the work and he must actually work. Then he is counted classified into that\, I mean to say\, category. Just like if you are simply trained or educated as a lawyer\, and if you are not practicing in the court\, nobody comes to you to consult as a lawyer. \nNobody cares for you. You must be practicing also. Similarly\, to become a brahmana means first of all\, he must know what is Brahman and he must be actually situated in the activities of Brahman. So devotional service are activities of Brahman. Activities in Krishna consciousness means activities in Brahman. Brahme carati iti brahma brahmacari. Carati means acts. Actually\, he acts in life\, applies the principles of brahmana in his life\, he is called brahmacari. So these were the trainings.\nSo just see how the training was\, that a kshatriya cannot refuse his promise. So Maharaja Dasaratha\, he fulfilled the promise of his youngest wife and asked his son\, eldest son Ramacandra\, “My dear boy\, You’ll have to go to forest for fourteen years. That is the desire of Your youngest mother. And I promised that I shall fulfill her promise\, uh\, request. So please accept.” Ramacandra said\, “Yes father\, I am ready.” Just see. This is the quality. Out of the six opulences of God\, this is one quality. \naisvaryasya samagrasya\nviryasya yasasah sriyah\njnana-vairagyayos caiva\nshannam bhagam itingana\n(Vishnu Purana 6.5.47) \nHow one becomes God? God is not manufactured by vote. There are definition who is God. God must be the proprietor of all the riches. Aisvaryasya samagrasya. Samagra means all. Nobody can compete with Him. Here\, in this world\, material world\, I am rich man\, and there is another rich man who can compete with me. There is another rich man who can compete with him. But nobody can compete with God in richness. That is one qualification of God. Nobody can say that “I am richer than God.” You can say “I am richer than Ford or Rockefeller” or this or that. You can say. But nobody can say that “I am richer than God.” Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said mattah parataram nanyat asti kincid dhananjaya. Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. Dhananjaya is a name of Arjuna\, and Krishna said that\, “My dear Arjuna\, there is nobody greater than Me.” So if anyone claims that he is God\, he must prove by practical example that nobody is richer than him. That is the first. But unfortunately\, we are accepting so many Gods. A rascal in the street\, he also claims that “I am God.”  \nSo similarly\, the other qualification\, nobody can be stronger than God\, nobody can be wiser than God\, nobody can be more beautiful than God\, and nobody can be more renouncer than God. So here Ramacandra\, Lord Ramacandra exhibited the quality how He renounced the whole kingdom simply on the order of His father\, His obedience to father. He could have argued with His father\, “My dear father\, you\, simply for keeping your promise and actuated by the dictation of a woman\, you are doing this. Let us stop it. Everyone is expecting that tomorrow My coronation will be there\, and they love Me so much.” Because He… Just like Krishna was so much loved\, similarly\, Lord Ramacandra was the life of the people. They were very much expecting that Ramacandra was going to be enthroned tomorrow. So how they were celebrating\, how they were decorating the whole city. Everything. He never argued. He accepted immediately: “Yes\, father. I am ready.”  \n So then one of the brothers\, Lakshmana\, He also requested Ramacandra\, “My dear brother\, You also take Me. I am Your constant companion. I must go with You.” So He said\, “That’s Your wish. Voluntarily\, if You want to come\, You can come with Me.” Then Sita\, His wife\, young wife\, She also said\, “I’ll go with You.” Ramacandra requested His wife\, “Oh\, you cannot go with Me. It is very difficult. You are a king’s daughter\, and you are brought up in so nice way\, and you are so beautiful. You cannot go. You cannot take the trouble of living in the forest.” So she said\, “Oh\, I am Your wife. Married wife. So I must go even if You go to hell.” This is ideal wife. She could have refused: “Oh\, Your father has ordered to go to forest. You can go. I shall go to my father’s house or I shall remain here.” No. This is ideal wife. She must be prepared to accept any circumstances of the husband. Not that when the husband is rich the wife is very faithful\, and when he has come down to be poor or he’s going to forest the wife gives up his company. No. Wife means better half. She must abide. \nJust like\, it is said\, just like a shadow follows the reality\, similarly\, the wife is the shadow of the husband. Wherever the husband goes\, she must go. Whatever the husband wants\, she must carry out. Of course\, in this country this interpretation is taken differently\, that wife is made a slave. But actually\, it is not so. When Sita was kidnapped in the jungle\, Ramacandra expected that\, that she was beautiful\, she was young\, and “We shall be in open jungle. It may be some demons may come\,” and actually it so happened. So for Sita\, Lord Ramacandra massacred the whole family of Ravana. Only for Sita. So as the husband\, so the wife. The wife was so faithful that she could not remain alone. She must accompany the husband even in the forest. And the husband was so faithful that\, “Oh\, my wife has been kidnapped.” So He massacred the whole family of Ravana. \nSo these are ideal history how… Ramacandra\, Lord Ramacandra appeared on this world to educate or to place ideal example of a king. How the king should be. Therefore when there is good government… The example is given\, Rama-rajya. Rama- rajya. It is the kingdom of Lord Rama. Because everyone was happy\, everyone. There are so many instances in the life of Ramacandra. One brahmana… Not brahmana exactly. Somebody came to Ramacandra. Because at that time there was no court like this\, that you have to go to a court and apply with stamp fee. Then your judgment will be delivered after six years. It is not like that. Anyone who has got some complaint\, he should… The king used to sit in the open audience\, and the citizens were allowed to approach the king and place their complaints. Because there was no complaint practically. Everyone was happy. Very minor complaint. So somebody came to Ramacandra\, and he charged Ramacandra\, “My dear king\, my son has died. How is that\, in the presence of his father\, son can die? There must be something wrong in Your government.” Just see. The charge is “Why my son has died before my death? This is unnatural.” So there was nothing unnatural. The king was responsible even for severe cold\, severe heat. That we get from history of Srimad-Bhagavatam. That is stated. So the kings were so much responsible. They were always thinking of the happiness of the citizens\, and the citizens were also so nice. \nOne citizen approached Lord Ramacandra and His next assistant\, His brother\, Lakshmana\, informed Him that “He is a brahmana. You were absent on Your tour for\, I think for a fortnight or a month\, and this brahmana has not eaten even a drop of water during Your absence.” Why? “Because he comes here to see You\, darsana.” Just like we come here in the temple to see the Deity. So Lord Ramacandra was present personally. So he used to come. After seeing Ramacandra\, offering his obeisances\, then he would go home and take something\, his breakfast. That was his vow. And because he could not see for a fortnight or a month Lord Ramacandra because He was out on political tour\, he did not eat even. Just see. The citizens were similar to the king. So at that time\, there was a statue of Ramacandra which was being worshiped in the family from Maharaja Ikshvaku. Maharaja Ikshvaku\, the son of Manu\, happens to be the forefather of the family in which Ramacandra appeared. So he was devotee of Lord Rama\, and he was worshiping the statue of Lord Rama. So that statue was being worshiped by the family one after another. But when Ramacandra was actually present He kept that statue in the closet of the room\, and when this brahmana approached and Ramacandra was informed by Lakshmana that he is so steady and strong in his vow\, so Ramacandra ordered that he may be delivered that statue so that in My absence he can offer respect to the statue and do with this. That form\, I mean to say\, statue\, or arca of Ramacandra is still existing in South India. It is being worshiped from that time. \nSo these were the dealings of Ramacandra. Then He\, His younger brother Lakshmana and His wife went to the forest\, and His wife was kidnapped by the diplomacy of the demon Ravana\, and there was fight between Rama and Ravana. Ravana was very\, materialistically\, he was very strong. But the thing is for fighting with Ravana\, Ramacandra did not come back to His kingdom and take His army. No. He did not come back because He was ordered to live in the forest. So He organized army with the jungle animals\, the monkeys. The monkeys. He fought with Ravana\, an organized materialist\, with the monkeys. You have seen the picture. And He constructed a bridge between India’s last point to the other side. Ceylon is considered to be the kingdom of Ravana. So there was a bridge\, and the stones were floating.  \nSo there are so many historical incidences in the life of Ramacandra\, and we should remember\, because if we remember why we are observing today fasting for Ramacandra… There were many kings like Ramacandra. Because the kings were trained in that way. Maharaja Yudhishthira was also as good as Ramacandra\, and Maharaja Parikshit was as good. There were many such kings. But we are not concerned because He was a king. He is the King of all kings\, paramesvara. Because He is God\, therefore we are observing today. Ramadi-murtishu kala-niyamena tishthan [Bs. 5.39]. So He is not original form of God. The original form of God is Krishna\, and Krishna expands Himself in various other forms. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. Ananta-rupam means millions and millions. The Manu is also incarnation of Krishna. So in one day of Brahma there are fourteen Manus. So Brahma lives for one hundred years. Just see how many incarnation of Manus are there even for one Brahma\, and there are innumerable Brahmas also. So\, as stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that nobody can count how many incarnations are there\, but some of the chief incarnations are mentioned\, and Lord Ramacandra is one of them. So Lord Ramacandra\, He killed Ravana and He installed his brother. \nHis brother was devotee\, Vibhishana. So He did not go to conquer Ceylon\, because He was emperor. He went to punish that culprit Ravana\, and He installed his younger brother Vibhishana in that… And He came back with Sita\, and again He was installed after fourteen years\, and His brother was so faithful that so long His eldest brother was away\, Ramacandra requested Him that “Your mother wants that You should be king\, and I also wish that in My absence You should be king.” Bharata\, He was so faithful brother\, He replied\, “No. You are king. So long You are living\, nobody can be king. So I cannot be king.” Then He requested\, “At least You administer.” Because after the departure of Lord Ramacandra\, Maharaja Dasaratha died out of the shock because Ramacandra was very pet son\, eldest son. He was going to be king\, and by his order He was sent to the forest. The father could not tolerate the shock. He died. \nSo Ramacandra’s life\, God’s activities\, pastimes\, if we hear\, that means we are associating with Ramacandra. There is no difference between His form\, His name\, His pastimes\, and Himself. He’s absolute. Therefore either you chant the holy name of Rama or you see the statue of Rama or you talk of His pastimes\, transcendental pastimes\, everything\, that means you are associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we take advantage of these days when the incarnation of God appears or disappears\, and we try to associate with Him. By His association we become purified. Our process is purification. Krishna consciousness means simply we are purifying our consciousness. From the birth\, as I have explained\, everyone is sudra. \nSudra means one who laments. That is called sudra. For a slight loss or slight inconvenience\, one who laments\, he is called sudra. And brahmana means one who tolerates. A sudra has no toleration. So kalau sudra sambhava. Kalau means… This age is called Kali. So it is the statement of the sastras that in this age the whole population is sudra. And formerly also\, by his birth\, everyone was considered sudra\, but there was training\, samskara. At the present moment\, there is no samskara\, there is no training. The training is only for earning livelihood. No other training. How one can earn money and enjoy senses that is the training at the present moment. But actually\, to make successful the human life or the mission of human life\, the Vedic culture is very nice. And by spreading Krishna consciousness\, by adopting the process of Krishna consciousness\, you can revive that cultural life\, sublime life. If not wholesale\, if there are a few people trained up in this line\, and they become ideal examples to the society\, immense benefit can be derived from their examples of life.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/rama-navami-17th-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ram-Navami.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240419
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240420
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240302T102352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240425T123341Z
UID:33931-1713484800-1713571199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Kamada Ekadashi 19th April 2024
DESCRIPTION:The untold glories of Kamada Ekadasi are described in the Varaha Purana in a delightful conversation between Maharaj Yudhistira and Sri Krsna.The king asked: “My dear Lord\, crowning jewel of the yadu dynasty. Please enlighten me about the nature of this most auspicious day. Kamada Ekadasi. Please accept my humble obeisances and advise me how one should observe this Ekadasi that falls during the month of Chaitra while the moon is waxing. Please also describe what the benefits of such observance are and advise me how to reap the result.” \n“Sri Krsna replied: “My dear maharaja Yudhisthira\, please hear attentively the description of this Ekadasi day which has been recorded in the ancient Purana. One time Maharaja Dilip\, the great grandfather of Sri Ramacandra\, asked his dearly beloved and most magnanimous spiritual master Vasistha\, about the name and procedure for observing this Ekadasi\, ‘Kamada’ which occurs during the month of Chaitra (March/April.) \n“The saintly & sagacious Vasistha replied\, ‘O my dear King\, naturally i will fulfill your desire to hear the glories of this Ekadasi day. The name of this inscrutably alligned\, constellatory opportunity is Kamada. The essence of such a day is the realisation of the delineation of lust and love; and knowing the difference between the two. This sacred Ekadasi burns all one’s sinful reactions to ashes and awards the observer the privelege of having an intelligent and confident son. Now\, please hear the glories of this Ekadasi.” \n“Once\, in the city of Ratnapura (Bhogipura) there was a great and venerable king known by the name of Pundarika. He was accompanied by his joyful and kindly munificent subjects which included the Gandharvas\, Kinnaras and the Apsaras. In that sweetly opulent city there lived a fantastically beautiful Apsara named Lalita and a handsome\, regal Gandharva known as Lalit. They lived happily as husband and wife and were consistently overwhelmed by each other’s love; to the point of madhness. They were constantly engaged in sporting activities and relished each others company until their association burned at the heartstrings and knarled their brains to the point of exhaustion.” \n“One time in the court of King Pundarika many Gandharva’s were engaged in blissful frivolities\,  they were singing and dancing and covorting in great bliss. Lalit sang with the Gandharvas although his wife did not\, rather she danced in great ecstacy with the many joyous Apsaras. Due to the pangs of separation that Lalit was experiencing in separation from his devoted wife\, he felt intense hankering and dove into an ocean of tears. His innunciation during his singing grew weaker and he forgot the words to many songs that he knew off by heart.” \n“Oh king\, in that assembly there was one serpent from the Patala Region\, he went by the name of Karkotaka and knew well the mystery of this situation. He complained in a greatly thunderous voice\, “O lalit you have spoiled the perfomance here by your attachment to your wife\, you have upset the taal (rhythm) of the piece and distracted the singers. Therefore i curse you to be a man-eater cannibal.’ \n“Being thus cursed by such a serpentine character\, Lalit immediately transformed into a great demon and all could see there was fearsome fire in his eyes. When lalita saw her husband’s terrifying form she was extremely hurt and distressed. In intense pain and distress she spent her days and nights simply thinking of where to go\, what to do and who to see. However\, her fears allayed she felt no understanding of where she was\, what she was doing and who she was seeing. She was simply lost on an ocean of delinquent separation. Surrendering all embarrassment she lived with her husband in the forest.” \n“Once\, while wandering within the dense forest with her husband\, Lalita saw the most sacred ashrama of the sage and Sringi situated at the peak of the Vindhiya Mountain. Lalita immediately went there and offered her respectful obeisances to the sage. Upon seeing this lady\, the sage inquired\, ‘O beautiful one\, who are you and where do you come from? Why have you come here and what duty will you perform here?’ \n“Lalita replied: “O great soul\, I am the daughter of the great and kind hearted Gandharva named Viradhanva. My name is Lalita and I live in this forest with my husband. He has been cursed by a ferocious serpent and is now in the form of a demon. O brahmana! I am greatly indebted to you for your kind darshan and have no means of rescuing my husband myself. Please\, as a great brahmana you must surely have the ability to help. If there is at all some way of atonement that will remove this horrendous afflication\, then please; tell me!” \n“After hearing Lalita’s pathetic request\, the sage Sringi said\, ‘O daughter of the Gandharva\, in a few days time during the waxing Moon of the Chaitra month. There is a munificent Ekadasi day\, known as Kamada. By observance of this day all one’s sinful reactions can be completely annhiliated. By following this (vow) and giving the entire merit to your husband\, all one’s desire’s will be fulfilled. Then\, by the influence of this merit your husband will immediately become freed from the curse.” \n“O King! Being instructed in this way by the sage\, Lalita gladly observed the vow of this Ekadasi. On the day of Dvadasi\, Lalita gladly sat in front of the brahmanas and the Supreme Lord Vasudeva and announced: “I have observed the Ekadasi vrata as you reccomended\, I have abstained from food and water for the duration and am now gladly offering my results unto my dearest husband. I pray that my piety will remove his demoniac condition and alleviate our suffering.” \n“As soon as Lalita had finished her prayer\, her husband-turned-demon\, ‘Lalit’ became freed from the reactions of his sins and regained his divine Gandharva form. From that time on Lalit and Lalita lived happily together.” \n“Lord Krsna concluded\, “O Maharaja Yudhisthira! O best of kings! Anyone who hears the narration of this most charmingly blissful day should certainly observe it to the best of his ability. There is no better vow as it can eradicate even the sin of killing a brahmana and easily counteracts demoniac curses.”
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/kamada-ekadashi-19th-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Ekadashi.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240420
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240421
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240329T120554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240425T123359Z
UID:34388-1713571200-1713657599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Damanaka Ropana Dvadasi 20th April 2024
DESCRIPTION:The following days the following is observed in Jagannath Puri. This festival is celebrated on the thirteenth and fourteenth days of the bright fortnight of Chaitra (April). \nDeities of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna are taken in procession to the Jagannath Ballava Math. There the Deities get Their Dayana leaves from the garden at the math. On the fourteenth\, the leaves are offered to Lord Jagannath\, Lady Subhadra and Lord Balarama. “Damanaka is a particular type of flowering tree\, Artemisia indica. In modern Oriya it is called daana. It is one of the two favorite flowers of Lord Jagannath\, the other being campaka. It is said that Lord Jagannath comes to the Jagannath Vallabh garden in Puri to steal these flowers. Aropana means to plant. On this dvadashi there is a ritual planting of the daana tree.”
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/damanaka-ropana-dvadasi-20th-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Damanaka-Ropana-Dvadasi.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240423
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240424
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240329T120720Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240425T123407Z
UID:34390-1713830400-1713916799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Sri Balarama Rasayatra 23rd April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Lord Balarama’s springtime rasa dance with His cowherd girlfriends. Krsna performs rasa lila of two varieties\, one in the autumn season and one in the spring season\, on vaisakha purnima. \nBalarama also performs rasa dance at this time. In order to keep the gopis in Vrndavana satisfied\, Lord Balarama stayed there continually for two months\, namely the months of Caitra and Vaisakha. For those two months he kept himself among the gopis and he passed every night with them in the forest of Vrndavana in order to satisfy their desire for conjugal love. Thus Balarama also enjoyed the rasa dance with the gopis during those two months.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/sri-balarama-rasayatra-23rd-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/balarama_rasayatra.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240423
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240424
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240329T123213Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240425T123412Z
UID:34392-1713830400-1713916799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Sri Krishna Vasanta Rasa 23rd April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Lord Krishna’s springtime rasa dance. The purnima or full moon of Damodara month is the second full moon of the autumn season\, and rasa lila is again celebrated.  \nThis second rasa yatra is celebrated more in Bengal\, whereas the first one is celebrated more in Vrndavana. On this day one should perform full worship of Radha and Krsna with many flowers\, and place them in a rasa mandapa surrounded by the gopis. Sri Krishna Vasant Rasa is similar excepting that it is in the Spring (Vasant)\, at this time everyone dresses in yellow. On this full moon night the devotees usually leave out pots of sweet rice payasam for the Lord to enjoy during His rasas.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/sri-krishna-vasanta-rasa-23rd-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/vasanta-Rasa.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240423
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240424
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240329T123352Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240425T123421Z
UID:34394-1713830400-1713916799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Appearance Day of Sri Vamsivadananda Thakura 23rd April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Sri Vamsivadananda Thakura Appearance Day. Vamsivadananda Thakura wrote many sweet poems expressing his devotion to Krsna.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/appearance-day-of-sri-vamsivadananda-thakura-23rd-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sri-Vamsivadananda-Thakura.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240423
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240424
DTSTAMP:20260425T200011
CREATED:20240329T123515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240425T123426Z
UID:34396-1713830400-1713916799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Appearance Day of Sri Syamananda Prabhu 23rd April 2024
DESCRIPTION:Syamananda Prabhu\, a disciple of Hrdaya Caitanya\, established the temple of Sri Radha-Syamasundara in Vrndavana.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/appearance-day-of-sri-syamananda-prabhu-23rd-april-2024/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Syamananda-Prabhu1.jpg
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END:VCALENDAR