A Loving Reminder

Even if you forget Krishna, He doesn't forget you.

A few days ago, I was walking home when suddenly the words to Damodarastakam found its way to my lips. I began singing to myself and realized it had been very long since I last heard/sang the Damodarastakam. It felt wonderful to sing it again!

Something stirred in my heart. Krishna was informing me that Kartik Maas was soon beginning - I was sure of it! Surely enough, I went home and checked the dates only to find out Kartik Maas was just a few days away.

I haven't had time to look at a Vaishnava calendar, I haven't been following festival dates, I haven't been giving enough time to Krishna... But he knows how much I love the Holy Month of Kartik. And like a little child who reminds everyone about the important days in their lives, Krishna reminded me of his special days.

Have a blessed month!

Miracles and Testimonies II

Here are some more nectarean miracle stories of those whose lives have been touched by Krishna :)

• "One day, while in college, I was bankrupt. I didn't have money for bus to go to college, though all I need was just 2 Rs. Surprisingly, that day, none of my friends came to my room. So, I prayed to Krishna that if you are truly there, please take me to the college. I'll not ask money from anyone...but Krishna pls somehow you should make me go to college. If you do so, I'll never ever again doubt your presence. Actually, that was the time, by the mercy of my Gurudeva, I began worshiping Krishna in His idol form. I waited in my room for a long while....

How I came to Krishna Consciousness

I always believed in God. I always prayed. Although, when I was younger, I didn't really know much about Hinduism which is the religion I was born into. But I always knew God exists. In school, I was too young to know the difference between different religions so I ended up staying put in class when other students left to different classrooms for their respective religious classes. I ended up studying Christianity from Grade 1 to 3. I was also in a Catholic school, so I was quite accustomed to praying according to the Catholic tradition, going to church, etc. My family is also very open minded about different religions. We would all go to church together sometimes, we have an altar at home, and many different murtis. We also have posters with Islamic verses on them. Obviously, as a result, my mind became very receptive to different religious traditions and cultures.

Starting from Grade 9, we began to study Hinduism.

Does Krishna get angry?

See what Sankarshan Das Adhikari has to say about this:

"Krishna becomes very, very angry when His devotees are tortured. He became so angry when Hiranyakasipu was trying to kill Prahlada Maharaja that He appeared in the form of Lord Nrsimhadeva and ripped that rascal apart with His own finger nails.

If a devotee is personally insulted he remains meek and humble. But if the Lord or another devotee is insulted, he becomes angry like fire to chastise the blasphemer. Such anger is divine."

"Spiritual Surgery and Krishna's Promise" - by Sacinandana Swami

[Taken from: http://www.saranagati.net/index.php?S=3&Article=731&mpage=1]

"You can’t postpone it any longer,“ said the surgeon. "We have to do it now.“

“Okay,” I answered, “when is now?”

“As soon as you can be in the operation theater! See you, I am making the necessary preparations now,” replied my doctor.

This is how my story starts – a story, which many friends asked me to share. It is a story of protection and how a divine promise was fulfilled.

Surgery

Krishna's Love

Exactly 2 weeks ago from today, my mind began wondering, for the umpteenth time, whether there really is only one true religion in the world, and maybe I'm in the wrong one. So I thought let me pray. First, I prayed to Krishna to please reveal Himself to me. Then I prayed to God, without any hint of sectarian beliefs or distinction between religions - just the God of this creation, asking to know Him and worship Him the way He would like me to. I asked to be shown what the truth is and what the truth isn't, so I would be able to distinguish which religion is bonafide.

So I logged on to www.krishna.com and there was a verse quoted:

Prayer Requests

So I had a thought recently about devotees praying for one another. Someone I know was talking about how devotees pray over one another in churches. Also, I'm familiar with how preachers, pastors, as well as ordinary people pray over one another in churches and God works through them to heal others and help change others' lives.

He did it again

I was working on two reports for university last night. They weren't due today but I wanted to submit them as I have holidays starting tomorrow and I didn't want to spend them stressing out about my reports that were due. So I was working late into the night. I took a shower at around 2 AM and I was absolutely planning on not chanting for the day as I was just wiped out. I was really exhausted and literally braindead. I thought that I would just go ahead and chant anyway. But I was way too sleepy. I was contemplating all this while I was in the shower. I was telling myself not to break my routine and that I should just go ahead and fight the sleepiness and chant. However I was seriously tired and didn't feel like I had it in me to chant.

A Love So Incredible

I'm chanting up to 2 rounds daily now, by Krishna's mercy. Today while I was chanting, I was so distracted. I couldn't concentrate at all! I even dropped my beads back into my bag once by mistake, in the middle of my round.

Then I thought I should try to picture Krishna to concentrate better. It also occurred to me how a fellow blogger, In Love With Krishna, mentioned that she tries to visualize Krishna while chanting (thank you, ILWK). So I decided to try to visualize Krishna. Oh, the sweetest image of Him formed in my mind! It was so beautiful!

Peacocks, Courage and a Special Feeling

Last week, on Monday to be precise, I went with some friends to Hatta. On the way there, I saw a rainbow for the first time EVER. It was so exciting! What was even more exciting was the thought about my deal with Krishna. Everytime it would rain, I would just hope and hope to see a rainbow. So I made this deal with Krishna: If I see a rainbow, it will be a gift for me from Him. So remembering this, I began to wonder if it was really a gift for me. Call it silly, but after having lived 20 years of my life and never seeing a rainbow, which is so hard to believe, it really did feel like a gift. So for confirmation, I thought if I get to see a peacock sometime during the day, it would mean that the rainbow was definitely a gift from Krishna. Lol, I feel kind of childish and silly typing out all these funny thoughts! Either way, I didn't come across one. Although, we did stop in front of a store called "Al Sakhi" (Al in Arabic means 'the'). Sakhi just made me think of how Krishna was Radharani's saakhi and that itself made me feel Krishna's presence.

The Way to Bliss: Just Ask Him

Krishna let me taste some bliss last night. Thank You, Lord.

Last night, I was riding some emotional waves. I was feeling very sensitive. While I was chanting last night, somehow, I realized that last night I did not have the will to ask Krishna to show me any more miracles, any proof of His existence, etc. I realized that I didn't need to beg for that. The first thing I need is to have faith in Him. So I begged for faith. I begged for love. I begged Him to smear my eyes with the ointment of love.

"Only a person whose eyes are smeared with the ointment of love can see the beautiful form of Sri Krishna." Bhagavad Gita Purport, 11:50

Diwali 2010

Hey guys!

So the day's pretty much over. I just finished today's diwali aarti a while ago. I was in such a rotten mood just before the aarti. I was so impatient and so irritated. I had to help my sister find an outfit for her high school graduation ceremony tomorrow and we just couldn't find anything and it was frustrating me. We sat down for the aarti and I was just being so negative about everything. It all seemed very ritualistic, and I kept remembering the blog entry I posted earlier today, about ritualism. Moreover, I've gotten accustomed to thinking like this because of reading so much about how Hinduism is just "paganism" and "heathen". So anyway, I reminded myself of my own blog entry, and told myself to think of the meaning behind these rituals. Soon, during the aarti, I started feeling very

Dream about Krishna + Krishna looks after His devotees

Last night, I dreamed that I was on the phone with a girl from my Hare Krishna Youth class. While we were on the phone I noticed that my krishna deity in my altar had turned his head. I stared on in disbelief and he did it again! Then he spoke and I put the phone close to the deity so my friend could hear it. Then I told her I would call her back so I kept the phone. The deity then came alive.

"So you don't eat meat?"

Today, I bought a packet of noodles that was on offer. It was 'Spicy Tomato Flavor'. Since it was packed, I asked the shopkeepers if it was vegetarian. They said yes. So I bought it and when I got home, I checked the ingredients. It had artificial chicken flavouring. So I went back to the store to exchange them. I told the lady at the counter that I was a vegetarian so I couldn't eat it.

"So you don't eat meat?" she asked.

Dream about Lord Chaitanya and His Associates + Surrender

A few days ago, I think on Saturday night, I went to bed asking Krishna a very very simple question, to get Him to talk to me. I feel like such a silly child but I was doing it because I wanted Him to speak to me. I have heard of people hearing God's voice and how God guides them and literally speaks to them. Like they actually hear God's voice.  

Bhagavad Gita, 9:22

"But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form--to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have." - Bhagavad Gita, 9:22

One word. Alive.

Krishna is Alive. Today I had the opportunity to realize that Krishna is alive and He is present in our lives. Today, I

Vegetarianism

I've been a vegetarian now for around 1 year and a few months. And PROUD!

How I became a vegetarian:

Once, I looked down into my plate of chicken, thinking, "This used to be ALIVE a while ago, running around in a farm, moving, walking, breathing, playing... and now it's in my PLATE." I couldn't deal with

Krishna's Mercy and My Wisdom Teeth

I had 3 of my wisdom teeth pulled out in the last week. Only one of my extractions was giving me problems. I had accidentally hit it with my toothbrush on the 2nd day after the extraction which caused bleeding to start again. Then later I noticed it wasn't healing well. There was a little hole there, or what would most likely be termed a "dry socket". It's a painful condition when the blood clot doesn't form and the jawbone as well as nerve endings air exposed to air and food and thus can get infected. By Krishna's mercy

Realizations: The importance of the Mahamantra + God's Love

So why do I need to chant? Why can't I just pray in my own words, from my heart? I could definitely do that for a longer time with more attention rather than chanting. I often think, what is the use? I'm just saying the mantra while my mind is somewhere else, I'm thinking about other things. Why don't I just pray? Then one day, while chanting, I realized something.

Krishna and Sudama: Devotion and Reciprocation

There was a brahmana by the name of Sudama, who once upon a time, used to play with Krishna during his childhood. Krishna had gone on to become the King of Dwarka, with an opulent palace, whereas Sudama, who was never after material possessions, had married, had children and lived a very simple life. They began to face poverty - his children were starving, they were weak and ill. However, Krishna's name never left Sudama's lips. Sudama's wife told him to go to Krishna and ask him for some help.