Sunday, October 13, 2013

Glories of the Kartik month


Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. Even unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Karttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathura (or Vrindavana) in India, are very easily awarded the Lord's personal service". During the Kartika month millions of devotees worship Damodara Krishna with ghee lamps and devotional bhajans, glorifying His playful childhood pastime of stealing yogurt. (H.H. Mahanidhi Swami)

"When one offers a lamp during the month of Karttika, his sins in many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eye blink."

"Please hear the glories of offering a lamp during pleasing to Lord Kesava. O King of brahmanas, a person who offers a lamp in this way will not take birth again in this world."

"By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one attains a pious result ten million times greater than the result obtained by bathing at Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse or by bathing in the river Narmada during a lunar eclipse."

"O Tiger among sages! For a person who thus offers a lamp burning with ghee or sesame oil, what is the use of performing an asvasmedha-yajna? "

"Even if there are no mantras, no pious deeds, and no purity, everything becomes perfect when a person offers a lamp during the month of Karttika."

"A person who during the month of Karttika offers a lamp to Lord Kesava has already performed all yajnas and bathing in all holy rivers. "

"The ancestors say: When someone in our family pleases Lord Kesava by offering to Him a lamp during the month of Karttika, then, by the mercy of the Lord who holds the Sudarsana-cakra in His Hand, we will all attain liberation."

"By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one burns away a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. Of this there is no doubt."

"A person who offers a lamp during the month of Karttika attains a result that cannot be obtained with even a hundred yajnas or a hundred pilgrimages."

"Even a person addicted to all sins and averse to all pious deeds who somehow offer a lamp during Karttika becomes purified. Of this there is no doubt."

"O Narada, no sin exists anywhere in the three worlds that will not be purified by offering a lamp to Lord Kesava during Karttika."

"A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krishna during Karttika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering."

"As fire is present in all wood and may be extracted by friction, so piety is always present in the offering of a lamp during the month of Karttika. Of this there is no doubt."

"O King of brahmanas, when someone offers Him a lamp on the full-moon day of the month of Karttika, Lord Krishna, finding that He does not have sufficient money to repay that gift, gives Himself in exchange for that lamp."

"One who offers a steady lamp to Lord Hari during the month of Karttika enjoys pastimes in Lord Hari's splendid spiritual world."

Even one who never performs religious rituals or even the worst sinner will surely be purified by this offering. O Narada, in the three worlds there is no sin that can stand before this Kartika dipa. In fact, by presenting this dipa before Lord Vasudeva, the eternal abode can be reached without obstruction.

"All the results acquired by donating grains during pitri-paksha or by distributing water in the hot months of Jyeshtha or Ashadha are easily gained in the course of Kartika merely by reviving (relighting) a dipa offered by someone else."

All glories to beautiful Lordship Sri Sri Radha Damodarji!
All glories to Kartik Masa!


"In Kartik month, after bathing in the morning, one should worship Lord Damodara. At night, one should light brilliant lamps filled with either ghee or sesame-seed oil, and place them in these places - in the Lord's temple, around the base of tulasi plants, and in the sky. During the month of Kartika, one should eat only vegetarian foodstuffs and Bhagavan's prasad remnants. There should be incessant harinama-kirtana and smarana. The sole activity to be done during the observance of Damodara-vrata is the worship of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara." – Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Monday 9/9 10:45am :Bellevue(@ Foothill Commons) Resuming Ladies Bhagavad Gita Classes

Dear Ladies,

Hare Krishna. Hope you had a great summer. We are eagerly looking forward to resuming Sakhi Sanga classes from Monday 9th September, 10:45 to 12:45pm. 

Please join us and feel free to bring your friends as well.
We hope you have all completed your summer assignment of reading the Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita. If not you can read it at this link http://vedabase.com/en/bg/introduction or directly from the book. We will do a quick recap of the Introduction followed by verse by verse study of the Bhagavad Gita starting at Chapter 1.
Looking forward to seeing all of you.
Yours in Service,
Namita/ Navakishori devi dasi(425 894 2140) and Ekta(425 753 3656)
Venue:
Please note change in Apartment and building number below
Bellevue @Foothill Commons
13702 NE 9th place
Bldg number 11
Apt number 105
Bellevue, WA -98005
Adjacent to the leasing office

Monday, June 3, 2013

Seminar on Stress Incontinence

We are very grateful to Shweta Kolhatkar a licensed Physical Therapist, who has  agreed to speak on the topic "Stress Incontinence" for our benefit as we all face this type of problem sometime in our lives.Please feel free to share this invite with your friends

Dates will be:

Bellevue:  6/17, Monday 11:15 to 12:15 followed by Lunch. (Foothill Commons. 852 136th Ave NE Apt 5-101  Bellevue, WA -98005   Phone number:425 502 9791   )

VCC Samammish:-   6/11- Tuesday 10:00am to 11:00am followed by Kirtans

Free Admission

Stress incontinence is the loss of small amounts of urine associated with coughinglaughingsneezingexercising.

 One in every three women in any age group, although commonly post-pregnancy and menopausal women are suffering from undiagnosedstress incontinenceDespite its prevalence, approximately 60% of women suffering from urinary incontinence do not seek professional help for their condition due to the belief that it is an embarrassment and it is a natural consequence of ageing and childbirth. Loss of adequate control on urinary bladder is called as STRESS INCONTINENCE or OVERACTIVE BLADDER.  

The seminar by Shweta will cover the following points: 
1) What is stress incontinence?
2) Why it is abnormal to dribble urine ?                                                                                                                                    
3) What are the consequences if not dealt with it at early stage? 
4) How can you prevent it ? 
5) What are the exercises to control the situation? 
6) Other methods to control the incontinence
7) When and where  to seek help?

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Who is God? - Parts 1 and 2, Sessions 6(March 11) and 7(March 18th) ,Summary


  • God:
    • God is everywhere 
      • Brahman (Sunlight)
    • God is in you and me
      • Paramatma (Supersoul) (Sun disc)
      • He still retains His individuality
    • He is the Supreme Person (Bhagavan) (Sun planet)
  • This Supreme Person is the 
    • Supreme Proprietor
    • Supreme Controller
    • Supreme Enjoyer
    • The original source of everything
  • He possesses many majestic qualities like those mentioned above but He still is
    • Still the Sweetest One!
    • Most loving and lovable Person!
    • Best friend, son, lover…
  • Universal Govt has various departments
    • Devatas
      • Incharge of various universal departments
      • Subordinate to the Lord
  • Our relation with God
    • We are not GODS, but GOD’s
  • Our inherent nature
    • To serve Him
  • Yoga
    • To reestablish our relationship with Him


Sunday, March 3, 2013

Who am I? -Part 1 and - Session 4 and 5 Summary Feb 25th and March 3rd

  • Our Real identity
    • NOT the material body BUT Spirit SOUL
  • Proof of Existence of Soul
    • Common Sense
      • Difference between living and dead body
    • Intuitive understanding
      • My hand, My Leg… Who am I?
    • Consciousness
      • Thinking, Feeling, Willing
    • NDE, Past life memories
  • The soul is
    • Indestructible, Individual
    • Sat-Chit-Ananda
      • Eternal, Full of Knowledge, Full of Bliss
    • Changes bodies, Infinitesimally small, Inconceivable
  • Modern Civilization
    • Polishing the Cage of the body
    • Starving the Bird of the Soul
  • Our humble attempt
    • To nourish the soul through Transcendental knowledge
  • Difference between Soul and Supersoul
    • We are sat, cit , ananda like God- but that does not make us God
    • We are same in quality but different in quantitiy
    • Soul is a servitor of God
    • We are God's , we are never and can never become GOD

Friday, February 15, 2013

Does God Exist - Part 2 Session 3 summary Feb 11th 2013

  • How Do I Know Him?
    • Three Ways to Acquire Knowledge
      • Pratyaksha Praman - Knowledge acquired to the senses
        • Incomplete
        • Scriptures say we have 4 defects
          • Senses are Imperfect
          • We are always under illusion
          • Tendency to Commit Mistakes
          • Cheating Propensity
      • Anuman Praman- Logic and Analytical Reasoning, Knowledge through Inference
        • Eg of 6 blind men trying to explain the body of an Elephant
        • Our Analytical understanding is also based upon the input from the senses which themselves are imperfect
      • Shabda Praman- Hearing from an authority
        • Saves Time and Inconvenience and it is safe
          • E.g. Going to Australia to discover it, consuming arsenic to understand its potency
        • Test of Authority:
          • Opinion does not change 
            • All times, circumstances and places the truth remains. Even if new facts come opinion remains the same
          • It has stood the test of time
            • It has not been proven wrong
    •  Vedas – The Ultimate Body of knowledge 
      • Describe the Absolute Truth
        Stood the Test of Time
    • Different Scriptures Bhagavad Gita, Bible, Quran, Torah, etc
      • The essence is the same
      • The truths were revelaed according to time place and circumstances.
    • The Summary of the Vedas
      • Bhagavad Gita (Law Book)
      • Srimad Bhagavatam (Law Journal) 

Friday, February 8, 2013

Does God Exist - Part 1 Session 2 summary Feb 4th 2013

It was nice having all of you at the second session of the Discover Yourself course in Bellevue.

Please find below the summary of what we discussed:

We discussed in the previous session about the real problems of life and how they seem like they are by design.In order to understand the solution of the problem we must understand why it was designed that way and who designed it. Just like for an apparent flaw/ design question in a building we go to the Architecht Similarly for a problem/design issue in this world we must go to the person who created this world. But who is that person? How would I recpognize Him- there are so many standing up today calling themselves as God- Does a real God even Exist?

  • Who is Behind All This? Does God Exist?
    • Creation implies a Creator
    • Laws imply a Lawmaker, eg Laws of Thermodynamics, Kinetics, Gravity
    • Nothing orderly happens by Chance!
    • We can understand the laws but we cannot change them
    • Therefore a God must Exist!
  • Definition of God
    • Supreme Source of Everything and Cause of All Causes
      • Cause of the Chicken and the Egg
      • The Buck stops with Him
    • Supreme Controller- 
      • we are mini controllers but we cannot be supreme controller
    • Supreme Proprietor
      • Owns everything
      • We have only temporary proprietorship
    • Supreme Enjoyer
      • Beyond Work, Birth Disease Old Age Death, 
      • Beyond the Three Fold Miseries- 
      • Always enjoying pastimes with His friends
    • All of these things are present in full in God.
  • How Do I Know Him?
    • Three Ways to Acquire Knowledge
      • Pratyaksha Praman - Knowledge acquired to the senses
        • Incomplete
        • Scriptures say we have 4 defects
          • Senses are Imperfect
          • We are always under illusion
          • Tendency to Commit Mistakes
          • Cheating Propensity
      • Anuman Praman- Logic and Analytical Reasoning, Knowledge through Inference
        • Eg of 6 blind men trying to explain the body of an Elephant
        • Our Analytical understanding is also based upon the input from the senses which themselves are imperfect
      • Shabda Praman- Hearing from an authority
        • Will be discussed n the Session on Feb 11th, 2013
We look forward to having all of you there.

Thank You