Padmanabha, the richest – a few random thoughts…..

Lord Ananthapadmanabhaswamy has always evoked a sense of awe and reverence in me ever since my first darshan many years ago. In the beginning, it probably had to do with the gigantic size of the Lord in His deity form. Later, as I read Srila Prabhupada’s books, I gained more understanding about Lord Vishnu and His variegated energies and how the Lord goes about the business of material creation. Padmanabha lying down in all His Majesty is indeed a sight to behold. Every year, when I came to India on vacation, I tried to make it at least once to take His darshan. He has always been extremely merciful to me and given His darshan countless times.

Years rolled by and two years ago, my wife and children came to stay in Thiruvananthapuram, the city named after Ananthapadmanabha. Since then, our frequency of visits have increased and several times our children have got mahaprasadam bouquets taken directly from the deity and given by the pujaris. Padmanabha continues to cast His merciful glance upon His city and the rest of the world from His anantasayana pose ! I consider it a great privilege to be staying just 15 minutes away from His majestic presence here in Thiruvananthapuram.

Now it has been revealed that He is the richest deity in the world with treasure troves lying under His temple being opened and listed ! It came as no surprise to me, because, as far as I am concerned, the lakhs of crores that these people count is nothing compared to even an iota of the aiswarya of Lord Padmanabha. Also, it is standing testimony of how pious kshathriya kings served the Lord with all pomp and festivity, and notably the Marthandavarma family who have surrendered themselves completely at the Lotus feet of Lord Padmanabha.

We have read in sastra that the great saintly kings used to worship the Supreme Lord in a way that was befitting their position. I can only feel pity at those ‘experts’ who have a poor fund of knowledge and commenting upon this issue. They speak utter nonsense like “the treasures found under Lord Padmanabha’s temple is the loot from wars and money usurped from common man”. These people have neither knowledge of sastra, nor any knowledge about sastra. It is utterly laughable, but then this is Kali yuga, so….

Eventually, politicians and other unscrupulous people may get involved and manage to loot Padmanabha’s wealth as well ! However, as they will find out to their own detriment, the reaction of misusing the Lord’s wealth will not be a pleasant experience. An atheist commented on “Padmanabha’s indadequacy” to roll out welfare schemes to the public, but little does he know that he himself will meet Padmanabha at the exact time of leaving his body, but the only problem is that he will meet the Lord in His most fearful form…..that of death !!!

All said and done, rest assured that Padmanabha’s smile on His face shall not be disturbed under any circumstance, but the atheists, politicians and all similar ilk, beware ! Your smiles will be wiped out – of that you can be sure – as sure as death ! Hare Krishna !

Hare Krishna's voice in God's own country !!!! Bhagavad Darshsanam release in Trivandrum

Finally, after waiting for 66 years, the magazine of the Hare Krishna Movement has come to Kerala. Titled Bhagavad Darshanam, the magazine hopes to act as the voice of the Hare Krishna Movement in Kerala. We hope that this venture will please Srila Prabhupada, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Krishna ! With help from the devotees and well wishers we hope to use this magazine to spread Krishna Consciousness in God's Own Country ! ! !

All glories to Aindra Prabhu !!!

As I heard of the disappearance of His Grace Aindra Prabhu, so many thoughts flooded through my mind. Reading through the offerings of his various godbrotheers, was so touching and reiterated my own thoughts about Aindra Prabhu !

Ever since the first time I heard Vrindavan mellows, Aindra prabhu's style has defined kirtan for me, although I did realize that there was no scope for me to sing like him - neither by way of singing ability, nor by way of bhakthi. However, he has continued to inspire me over the years and the 7 days I spent in Vrindavan and listening to his kirtan everyday will forever remain etched in my memory.

Aindra prabhu has influenced people around the world with his wonderful kirtan. I remember the good old days when myself, Padmanabh Nitai, Pradyumna Krsna, Debarshi Gauranga and others sitting in the ashram deity room with our harmonium, kartal and mrdanga and singing Aindra prabhu's tunes for hours together. Most of my kirtan memories are connected with Aindra Prabhu one way or the other. Prabhu has left, but his kirtan remains !!! So many more will hear him and continue to drive inspiration....

Aindra prabhu ki jai !!!

Panihati festival in Guruvayur

As the program was decided about a month ago that Panihati chida dahi festival will be celebrated somewhere close to Guruvayur on 27 June, everyone was looking forward to it very eagerly. I had to leave Guruvayur couple of days before on some urgent personal business and the hartal on 26th didn’t help matters much. Somehow, I had made up my mind to attend this festival, as I have very sweet memories of Panihati festival in Krishna Katha Desh. My bus was speeding towards Guruvayur and the rain was coming down hard. All my hopes were almost gone , with the sky completely dark with pregnant clouds showering non-stop and heavily, too. I said a silent prayer to Guruvayrappan asking the Lord to intervene and tell Indra to stop his army of clouds from showering over Guruvayur temporarily. My bus reached East Nada, and bang !!! , the rain stopped.

As I reached the ISKCON Complex, devotees were milling around busily getting things ready. The program was to be held at Panchavadi beach, about 6 km from Guruvayur. Devotees were transported in four trips to the beach as the bus was small and there were too many devotees. The bathing festival at the beach started at around 11.30 a.m., with Ram Govinda Prabhu and Rasanidhi prabhu bathing their Lordships Gauranga and Nitai, accompanied by the thunderous kirtan of Vichitra Chaitanya Das. The nearby local temple, the Thiruvathra Karthyayani temple was to be venue for the rest of the program. The sankirtan party from the beach went in a procession to the temple, loudly chanting the holy names, immersing the whole area in the heavy rain of hari-nama !

The temple held a surprise for many as there was a big crowd of local people in the temple hall, eagerly waiting for our program. This was due to the efforts of the temple priest who is a well-wisher of ISKCON and attends many of our programs. There are 500 houses around this temple and he had printed and distributed notices to all the local people informing them about our festival. Lord Gauranga and Nityananda was exhibiting their mercy in their customary way !!! The program included abhishekam, maha arati, bhog offering and a short lecture followed by mahaprasadam. The program was very well received by the local people, who were very happy to be introduced to Lord Chaitanya, the golden avatar and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Sukrthi Prabhu from Mathuradesh spoke on the significance of the festival. Ram Govinda Prabhu enlightened the audience about Srila Prabhupada and his worldwide movement. Matajis and prabhus had gotten together and prepared many varieties of chida to be offered to the deities. 23 items were offered in all ! The festival which began as a celebration for ISKCON devotees became a huge outreach preaching program, I guess it was Lord Chaitanya’s plan, after all !

Indra and his team stayed away, just until the festival got over. In fact, they started right after that !!! Of course, we do understand that Guruvayurappan is the Supreme Controller, whether its rain or sunshine !!! Once again, the Lord showed who is the Boss…

It also afforded me the opportunity to meet Radhakanta prabhu, the sweet and gentle devotee from Ayalur. I was also meeting Rasanidhi prabhu after sometime. The only thing everyone missed was the association of H.H. Bhakti Vinoda Maharaja.
Nityananda Prabhu showed mercy on Raghunatha Dasa Goswami at Panihati and ordered him to hold the chida-dahi festival. The Lord also brought Mahaprabhu to the festival by meditating on Him. So many years later, Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu continue to shower mercy on patitas through the same festival. The ways of the Lord are so wonderful and beyond our comprehension !
Saci mata prana dhana Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki jai !

Nityananda Rai ki jai !

The durlabha darsan of Lord Guruvayurappan on Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi day !!!

It was Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi on 22 June. As is my normal routine, I went to the temple in the morning. Entering through the West Nada, I circumambulated and reached the front entrance. From the kodi maram (flagpole) nothing much was visible. I peeped through the main outer entrance and found a looooooooong line, again, as usual. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t take darsan, but consoled myself with my usual motto – even if I cannot see Guruvayurappan, He can see me, so I present myself in front of the kodi maram every single day I am in Guruvayur.

Being Ekadasi day, I went again in the evening at around 6:15. The deepaaraadhana (arati) is normally at around 6:30 and will attract a huge crowd normally. As I reached the front entrance, lo and behold !!! No crowd, they are allowing persons to enter the queue from inside only !!! I seized the opportunity without delay and jumped into the queue. The queue normally moves in two files. Interestingly, the line that I got into was moving was moving at a snail’s pace. I was chanting my rounds and waiting patiently even as the other line kept moving. It took me a few minutes to understand that some smart devotee was slowing things up front to be able to watch the arati, but it didn’t last too long. The temple staff pushed us ahead and practically pushed me in front. Just as I got there, the doors closed for worship !!! It meant only one thing… I was going to watch the arati !!! Somehow the Lord had arranged for me to have His darshan…. It was a blissful few minutes as I watched the Lord being worshipped by ghee lamp and camphor lamp. One more instance of sweet reciprocation from the Lord. Sree Guruvayurappan ki jai !!!

All glories to Krishna Katha Desh Bhakta Vrnda !

On Nrsingha Caturdasi day, Gaura Nitai deities in Trivandrum wore the dress stitched by HG Rasanidhi Krsna Dasa and cloth sponsored by HG Parama Karuna Krsna Dasa and Rasesvara Gopala Dasa. Thank you, dear Vaisnavas ! All glories to you !!!

Upanayanam

We performed Upanayanam for Gauranga last week . As smarthas, we do upanayanam for sons at a young age. Gauranga is 6+ and therefore we thought it ideal to conduct his upanayanam now.

Upanayanam means to look upwards - the process where the vatu is introduced formally to knowledge of Brahman. The boy is given yajnopaveetam (yajna-upaveetam) and is expected to enter brahmacaryashram !!! Upanayanam is supposed to be starting point for learning brahma jnana.

brahmano hi pratisthaham amrtasyavyayasya ca

sasvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikantikasya ca

"I am the source of Brahman which is immortal, does not perish, eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness.", says Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

Musings about an air crash

Yesterday, on 22 May 2010, an Air India Express flight from Dubai to Mangalore crashed on landing at the Bajpe Airport in Mangalore. A tragic incident which led to news channels hovering over like vultures at the site and "creating" news alongside reporting it. While this circus goes on in news channels, the relatives of the departed ones find it difficult to mourn the departure of their loved ones in peace. Thanks to information revolution.....

The flight had 166 travellers including passengers and crew. The captain had supposedly flown more than 10,000 hours and the co-pilot 3650 hours. By no means were they lacking in experience. Moreover, the same pilot had landed in this runway many many times - safely. One mistake was all it took.

Reports say that 159 perished, most bodies charred beyond recognition, forcing authorities to conduct DNA tests to identify people.

7 people escaped - miraculously. They live to tell the story ! All of them - say the same thing - Thanks to God !!!

Which brings me to the sobering thought:

'rakhe krishna maare ki
maare krishna rakhe ki'

If the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna wants to protect someone, nobody can kill him and if Krishna wants someone to perish, no one can protect him.

Some simple truths are easier to understand in the face of tragedies like yesterday's air crash.

Coimbatore Rathayatra

The 17th ratha yatra of Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadramayi was on 11th and 12th of January 2009. I had reached Guruvayur the previous day and was joining a group of 50 devotees to travel together to Coimbatore. It was indeed a blissful trip. Kirtan resounded throughout the trip and when we got tired of singing (it took a great shouting effort to sing above the sound of a roaring bus speeding through the highway !)we listened to the blissful singing of HH Lokanatha Maharaja. We finally reached Coimbatore at around 12.30 noon time. We first went to unload our luggages at a kalyana mandapam which was booked for our night stay. Then we proceeded to the ratha yatra location. After some wonderful and heavy prasadam, we went to the Venugopala Perumal temple where the deities where residing before being taken to the chariot. When we reached there we were welcomed by the melodious singing of none other than HG Vayasaki Prabhu, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and one of the leading kirtaniyas of ISKCON ! Hearing him sing made me realize what a poor singer I really am !!! The ratha yatra was inagurated by the Mayor and was attended by HH Jayadvaita Maharaja and HH Bhanu Maharaja ! The deities were carried on palanquins to the ratha which was parked some distance away. On the way, I had some time to take precious association of HH Jayadvaita Maharaja - he was his usual self, only travelling a little more than before. I pointed it out to him and he smiled sweetly, he said "a little more, but not too much".

The ratha yatra solely missed the presence of HH Jayapataka Maharaja, who was present for all the 16 previous ratha yatras ! But Sarvaisvarya Prabhu mentioned in his speech that he spoke to Maharaja and Maharaja said that he was present in spirit even though absent physically.

It was a blissful three hours of non-stop chanting, giving mercy and prasadam of Jagannatha to everyone on the way. It was also opportunity to meet old friends like Swayam Nitai Dasa who was in KKD before and now in Hosur. He was his usual dancing self !!! I also met HG Jagat Sakshi and Sathyamedha Prabhus from Thiruvananthapuram, Anantha Sri Krishna Dasa from Cochin and many others. Myself, Vijayendra Krsna and Rasanidhi were travelling together alongwith Prana Sakha and others from Guruvayur. I also finally got to meet HG Sarvaisvarya Prabhu in front of the Ratha after he came down from the chariot and he led a dynamic kirtan even with a malfunctioning sound system. His kirtan roared even without a microphone. All together it was an unforgettable experience !

Back in the hall after the ratha yatra there were lectures by both the Maharajas and tthe next day, there were two really deep and high-tech presentations by HH Bhanu Maharaja. It was very fantastic for many intelligent devotees, but I could hardly understand it all with my dull brain. Anyway, 2 days passed like 2 minutes and we were back in the bus goiing back to Kerala.

One thing I was able to appreciate very much was the organisational side of things. All glories to HG Sarvaisvarya Prabhu and his team for putting together such a wonderful festival. Everything was fantastic -- the personal care, the prasadam, the hospitality and all the arrangements. It definitely took many many hours, days and weeks of careful planning and organization to put together such a fantastic festival.

I am now looking forward to the next festival !!!

On my way to Coimbatore rath yatra.......

Last week has been one of hectic travelling for me. After coming back from Guruvayur on Sunday, we went to take darshan at a temple called Thiru maandhaan kunnu - in Malappuuram district of Kerala. My wife had performed a mangalya puja there before marriage - to get married ! Anyone who does this puja is suupposed to visit the temple with their husbands. So, we finally made it after 5 years and 2 kids !! How is that for delaying your vows ! Anyway, this temple has Siva-parvati deities, Bhadra-kali and Ganesha. Ironically enough, the mangalya puja is performed in front of Ganesha who is famous as a bachelor !Its a big temple and very crowded. Obivously its crowded with lots and lots of unmarried girls. It was a 4 hour drive from my place and we returned late in the afternoon after a tiring but rewarding trip. Both Gauranga and Madhava were down after the long journey. The great devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan named Poonthaanam Nampoothiri also lived near this temple and there is small temple nearby where he has established a Guruvayurappan deity. Unfortunately, we got there late and the temple was closed. I plan to make it up the next time I visit there.

In my town, we have a big Mahadeva temple and it was utsavam there for 10 days. Lord Mahadeva is very merciful and attracts lots of people. Krishna deity is there in the same temple compound but in a smaller outer temple. I visit there everyday because its just 5 minutes away from my house. On Friday,there was "pooram"there. Pooram is a festival where the Lord sits atop an elephant and is accompanied by other elephants. Then, there will be vaadhyam in front of the Lord for His pleasure. This year there was a total of 11 elephants with the Lord being carried by one of the biggest elephants in Kerala. I was told that the elephant is rented for 200,000 rupees per day !!! This does not include his food and transport charges !!! Anyways, it was wonderful to see a team of more than 80 performers with "panchari melam" performing in front of the utsava murthy. The function started at 3.30 in the afternoon and was going on till about 7 in the evening.

I took all the family and went to see the celebration. Gauranga and Madhava thoroughly enjoyed it and Madhava was troubling me so much that he wanted to touch the elephant and sit on top !!!

I left by 5.30 because I had to take a bus to Guruvayur. I arrived at Guruvayur by 10 in the night and went for darshan at around 2.30 a.m. I got darshan by 5 a.m. due to heavy rush. This is Sabarimala season in Kerala now and every temple is crowded. Guruvayurappan already attracts millions, but during this month he attracts more people. Many people come to see Him on their way to see Ayyappa at Sabarimala. Anyway, the darshan, though short, was very sweet. The Lord had His usual sweet smile. There wasnt much time to submit too many prayers in front of Him, so II just prayed, "please do what is in my ultimate bbenefit". I guess that covers everything.

The bus to Coimbatore leaves at 7 in the morning and I am ready by 6.30. On to Coimbatore.....where Lord Jagannatha is preparing to shower His mercy on thousands of Coimbatorians !!!!

This is Guruvayurappan !!!!

I am back !!!

Its been a while since I blogged. Now that I am back here in punya bhumi, I think I should start writing again.

Yesterday, I was in Guruvayur. Guruvayurappan darshan is durlabha. So. I just paid obeisances to the kodi maram (flag post) and satisfied myself. I went there because HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja was coming there en route to COimbatore. Maharaja gave a nice lecture from Bhagavatam 3rd canto - Kapila siksha portion. The verse spoke about becoming disinterested in sense gratification.

Maharaja jokingly mentioned that there are more churches in Kerala than in the whole of Italy, the pope's place !!! I guess its true. Kerala is like that !!! That makes it a challenging task to distributes Prabhupada's boooks in Kerala. He also mentioned that Caitanya Mahaprabhu had visited the whole of South India and converted everyonne into vaisnava. Somehow, they all seem to have turned into other things by passage of time. Anyway, I pray to the Lord of Guruvayur, Lord Sri Krishna to help the movement of Srila Prabhupada to gain a foothold in "God's own country".

Bhakta Gaurahari blessed by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami

The material world is a sad place..

Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita that the material world is dukhalayam asasvatam, and we nod our heads and say, yes, I know that AND do nothing about it. We have been going through this process since time immemorial and still haven't learned our lesson. How wonderful is the influence of Mahamaya Devi ! Hats off to you mataji ! You are the best !

What brings me this realization on this fine and wonderful April morning is something that happened yesterday. I had a meeting at work with some people in the afternoon. As everyone knows, there are good meetings and then there are bad meetings. Yesterday's one was slanting more towards the bad end of things - so to say. The guy begins with a verbal attack on me, then transfers the attack to his own subordinate. I always remember something that Jayadvaita Maharaja once told me "defending is an animalistic tendency and I don't like to do it". Whenever I have to defend myself for anything, I always remember him. Thank you Maharaja for that wonderful instruction. So, I kept my defense to a minimum. I was thinking in my mind, "poor guy, he has got up on the wrong side of the bed today, or maybe he is always like this. Pity his poor wife. What sanga she must be having with this gentleman ! Then, he again started a new attack on a technical point and since he was not an engineer and in my team I had my project engineer, he was told off politely that he was absolutely wrong. This put an end to his attacks and the meeting could be rounded off quite cordially. I was happy that the engineer could quote from his "sastra" and break the unfounded argument by someone, even though highly qualified in his own field, was not an expert in the engineering domain.

The lessons I learnt yesterday were many.

People will give you hell, however you try to avoid it ! (dukhalayam asasvatam)

If we are well versed in our sastra as my engineer friend was in his "sastra" we can refute any whimsical theory put forward by others. (je krsna tattva vitta sei guru haya)


Defending is an animalistic tendency. (aahara nidra bhaya maithunam ca )

matra sparsas tu kaunteya !

The climate is chilly, more like icy, I should say. Here in the Middle East, winter is at its best. The rain tops it up with chilly winds - more like hell. I remember Srila Prabhupad's comments about St. Moritz in Switzerland - he called the place St. Hellish ! Because it was so cold. Srila Prabhupada said that hellish planets are very cold. I am getting a taste of it these days. We haven't seen the sun for three days now. Makes one realize the Brahma samhita verse "yacchaksuresa savita sakala grahaanaam, raja samasta sura-murtir asesa teja" - Sun is really the chief of all sura-murtis.

The climate also gives us a chance to practice the Bhagavad Gita verse :
matra sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna sukha dukha da
agama payino nityas
tam titiksasva bharata
Titiksa or tolerance is very important for devotees - we have to tolerate many things, whether we like it or not ! Think about all the things that we are tolerating for a so-called "better life". So, we need to tolerate some things for a little spiritual advancement as well.

Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi dukha doshanudarshanam

Whenever there is some bodily trouble, it tends to affect the whole self, at least it is that way for me. Of course, I do realise that its the result of high bodily consciousness. I read with great astonishment how Srila Prabhupada was totally unconcerned about his bodily discomforts during the last days of his manifest lila on this planet. So, I say, "kabe habe bolo, sei dina amar" (when will that day be mine !) Its a nice prayer by Thakur Bhakti Vinode.

Whenever I fall sick, (which is quite often ! ) devotees encourage me that I am getting rid of karmic reactions. Well, that may be, but it sure is no fun falling sick. But here is a nice prayer Gokula Gaurangi Devi Dasi gave me to chant :

achyutaananda govinda vishno naaraayana hare
rogan may naashaya asheshan aashu dhanvantari hare

"O Achyutananda, Govinda, Vishnu, Narayana, Hari, Dhanvantari! "
Please destroy all my diseases quickly and completely. "

Of course, we must realize that the material body is bound to become diseased because thats the arrangement of prakrti. But, a fit body definitely helps in discharging devotional service for a neophyte like me, so I am going to pray to Lord Dhanwantari to please give me better health !

Happy (?) New Year !!!

On January 1st, I received many calls, messages and emails - all wishing me a happy new year. Its a nice wish people tend to make at the beginning of every year. They tell each other, "I wish you a very happy new year". Its equally nice for the speaker and hearer.

Now, here is the catch ! Everyone "wishes" for a "happy" "new" year. Its a wish, it means, the happiness in not within our control, nor is there anything new about the year that comes ! Now, the whole statement takes a new turn. Everyone wishes to be happy, but we understand from scriptures that this material world is "padam padam yad vipadam". There is danger at every step. So, beware ! Everyone is stressed and anxious about the future and this leads to a constant state of unrest in the mind. "asantasya kutha sukham" ! For one who has no peace, where is the question of happiness ? Get the point !!!

As Srila Prabhupada would say, "better to chant Hare Krishna, thats all".

So, HARE KRISHNA !

A year gone by....

So, going by the Gregorian calender, we are finishing a year today and starting a new one tomorrow. People are busy getting ready for all night parties to bring in the "new year". People also make resolutions for the new year and never keep them !

Looking from the vedic perspective, it isn't much. Each day gone by is basically one day closer to the end of our existence in the present body, that's all. Its nothing to get excited about. In the never stopping cycle of time, what significance can a year have ! Supreme Lord Krishna is the only master of Kala or eternal time. The present age, Kali yuga itself is 432,000 years and the catur-yuga cycle is 4,320,000 years ! One day of Brahma, the secondary creator, is 1000 yuga cycles long ! Brahma lives for 100 years based on the 1000 yuga cycle a day calculation. So, time is relative . What seems a long time for us is just normal for Lord Brahma. And this Brahma's lifetime is but a blink of the eye for the Supreme Lord !

So, new year or old year, let us resolve to chant better and become better devotees. We don't want another "new" material body, do we ?

Unlimited !!!

We all know that Krishna has unlimited potencies. And, we jivas, what do we posses in unlimited quantity ? We have unlimited wants. So, we have unlimited wants and the Lord has unlimited potencies, so it makes sense to surrender to Him, so that He can remove the unlimited wants and give us unlimited bliss instead !!! What to you think ?

akaamah sarva-kaamo vaa
moksha-kaama udaara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena
yajeta purusham param

"Whether one is without desire [the condition of the devotees], or is desirous of all fruitive results, or is after liberation, one should with all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete perfection, culminating in Krishna Consciousness." [Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.10]

The festival season...

Its the festival season the world over. Its also the season for buy, buy, and buy more !!! The festival season has become an excuse for the consumer to indulge in his favorite pastime of buying things, not always necessary for him, but somehow made to feel that he cannot do without. Of course, we can blame the marketing industry for 'educating' us about what we need and why we cannot live without them. At the end of the day, its us who make the decision.

Once the season goes past as it always does, we realize that the things we did during the holiday season does not remain with us, the happiness was fleeting at best. More often than not, there will be some incident, something that came in the way of that fleeting feeling even. The fact remains that no amount of buying can make us happy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In this holiday season ISKCON does something wonderful. Its the Prabhupada book marathon season ! Devotees around the world engage in distributing Srila Prabhupada's books during this month with extra enthusiasm. As the holiday season is a time for people to "buy", the book distributors give them an opportunity to buy and gift something of enduring value - like a Bhagavad Gita. Anybody purchasing such a literature will receive the gift of their lifetime ! Its wonderful for both the distributor and the buyer.

Srila Prabhupada transcendental book marathon ki jai !!!