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Divine Connection
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Founder Acarya His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

www.iskcondc.com

Issue 6 February ‘10

and no one could challenge Him. However, upon
FESTIVAL/ EVENTS meeting Srivasa Pandita, Lord Caitanya gave up
By Mansi Suresh (9) His worldly scholarship and became initiated Reflections 2
by Isvara Puri. Although the Lord is the
Supreme Personality Himself, He took Game 1—Help bring 2
initiation just to show us little Nimai back
Lord Krsna, in the form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
the importance of
appeared five hundred years ago to deliver the
accepting a guru. During Acharya series 3
fallen souls of Kali Yuga
the rest of His life, Veggie Corner 4
through His sankirtan
Lord Caitanya devoted
movement. Every year, on
Himself entirely to the Story 1— Lord 4
the month of Phalgun
Sankirtan movement and Caitanya and the
(February-March), Gaura
propagated the chanting of the Maha-mantra. brahmin
Purnima, the appearance
day of Sri Caitanya
Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Lord Krishna Himself Story 2— Gaura- 5
Mahaprabhu, is joyfully
in the mood of Srimati sundar and His lov-
celebrated by Vaishnavas. Gaura Purnima means
Radharani. Sri Caitanya ing parents
“golden full moon,” signifying that Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu is the
appeared on a full moon night.
most merciful Game 2— Caitanya 5
incarnation of all. He is Mahaprabhu’s asso-
Lord Caitanya appeared as son of Jagannatha
merciful even to the ciates
Mishra and Sacidevi on 18th February 1486. As it
lowest and most
was a lunar eclipse, all the Hindus of Navadvip Siksastakam 6
wretched. It was Lord
chanted the names of Hari. Meanwhile, the
Caitanya who inaugurated the chanting of Verse of the month 7
Muslims mockingly imitated them, shouting loudly
‘Hare Krishna Maha Mantra as the process of
“Hari Hari” Thus, when Caitanya Mahaprabhu
deliverance for the age of Kali. Hence, on this
appeared, the whole place echoed with the names
most auspicious day of Gaura Purnima, we Special Interest
of Hari.
should all engage in chanting the Maha-mantra:

Because of His beautiful golden complexion, the “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna
Lord was called “Gaura.” And because, He was Krsna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama,
“born” under a nimba or Neem tree, He was also
Hare Rama, Rama Rama , Hare
known as Nimai. Everyone was so attracted to His
beauty that they came to see Him everyday. Hare”

In His youth, Sri Caitanya was an erudite scholar


Socrates once said, “An unex-
amined life is not worth liv-
ing.” So, what is the purpose of
life? Most people don’t really
give too much thought to this
question; after all, we are con-
sumed by so many activities:
in our youth, we have to study;
after finishing our studies, we
aim to get a well-paid job; then
we get married and take care
of our children (and later,
grandchildren). This cycle
never ends. However, is that
all there is to the human exis-
tence?
Every day, I see so many peo-
ple, each struggling to be
happy. Beguiled by Maya’s
flickering dances, they indulge
By Hamsika (4)
Reflections
By Lakshmi Suresh (16)
in various means, just to at-
tain true bliss. However, de-
spite such endless endeavors,
they find their attempts fu-
tile. And even if they
achieve that so called happi-
ness, it’s only ephemeral: a
gap between miseries. So
what is the vital ingredient
that’s missing?
Looking back at my own life,
I see so much transforma-
tion. And immediately, my
heart overflows with grati-
tude. Due to the causeless
mercy of the Lord and His
devotees, I have been be-
stowed with this most pre-
cious jewel of Krsna Con-
sciousness, the only medium
through which one can go
Game
Help bring little Nimai back home!
2
back to the real home, which is
inundated with eternal bliss and
happiness. Without this process,
where would I have been? I can
only shudder to think.
However, because of the tons
and tons of mercy that’s con-
stantly being showered, I have
been fortunate enough to come
in contact with Lord Caitanya’s
sankirtan movement, the vital
ingredient in life. And it’s
through this movement only can
one achieve life’s real purpose:
to reestablish one’s lost relation-
ship and serve the Lord and His
devotees.
By Mansi Suresh (9)
Artwork by
Lakshmi Suresh
 3

ACHARYA SERIES
Jiva Goswami is the youngest of the six
Goswamis.
By Koumudhi Kammari (13) He was the son of Anupam, the
younger brother of Rupa Goswami and Sanatana
Goswami. Very little is known about Jiva
Goswami’s childhood. The only thing that is
known is that his father passed away on the banks of the river Ganges, while he was
still young.
As he grew Jiva Goswami’s bodily features represented that of a
Mahapurusha or a divine person. He had wide lotus eyes, a
raised nose and forehead, a conch like neck, broad shoulders and
chest, hands that reached his knees, and bright effulgence.
During his schooling he studied the scriptures with great
interest and he mastered logic, poetry, and grammar. During
his education he worshipped the deities of Krishna and Balaram,
who he understood to be Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda
Mahaprabhu.
When Jiva Goswami was only 20 years old, his mother left this
world. This caused him to renounce this world and follow in
the foot steps of his exalted uncles Rupa Goswami and Sanatana
Goswami, who were residing in Vrindavana. But before going
to Vrindavana he went to get mercy from Lord Nityananda.
Lord Nityananda was so pleased with him that he personally
took him on a tour of the nine islands of Navadwipa. The Lord then instructed Jiva
Goswami to go Benares to complete his education and then go to Vrindavana. In
Benares he studied under the leading professors of vedanta and soon became well-
known for his great understanding in philosophy.
Jiva Goswami then went to the land of Krishna and was greeted by the other five
Goswamis. All of them and other leading devotees warmly received him and after
settling in, he asked Sanatana Goswami to initiate him. Sanatana Goswami out of
humility directed him to Rupa Goswami. Rupa Goswami first tested him and then
accepted him as his disciple and initiated him into Lord Caitanya’s spiritual family.
Once a dig-vijaya named Rupanarayana challenged Sanatana Goswami and Rupa
Goswami for a debate and since they didn’t want to waste their time they spoke
highly of Rupanarayana and signed a certificate of defeat. But Rupanarayana was
not satisfied because he heard about Jiva Goswami’s fame. So, he challenged Jiva
Goswami by showing him the certificate of defeat signed by his uncles and bragged
about how he defeated them without even debating. Jiva Goswami was angry whe n
Rupanarayana was belittling his uncles so he accepted the challenge and Jiva
Goswami debated with the dig-vijaya, because he wanted to re-establish the
reputation of his uncles. Jiva Goswami and Rupanarayana battled their wits and on
the last day Jiva Goswami emerged victorious. Jiva Goswami’s fame spread and
attracted the attention of Emperor Akbar. Emperor Akbar visited Jiva Goswam i
secretly. The emperor was so moved that he decided to help Jiva Goswami with the
construction of the four original temples of Vrindavana: Madhan-Mohan,
Govindadev, Gopinath, and Jugal-Kishor. Jiva Goswami also oversaw the building
of the Radha Damodar temple.
After sometime Jiva Goswami started accepting disciples of his own and too k
responsibility for the thousands of palm leaves which the other Goswamis wrote on.
He gathered all the sacred texts and told his leading disciples to take them to Orrisa
and Bengal. The devotees there studied and copied them with joy. In this way Jiva
Goswami arranged the first book distribution program. He himself wrote more than
400,000 verses of scripture and has often been cited as the greatest scholar in all of
India’s history. In Krishna Lila he is Vilasa-manjari.
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By Mansi Suresh (9) " To the sincere devotee, this ocean of

maya is easily crossed by the cool

Preparation time: 10 mins breeze of Krishna's grace. This is our

buisness, to submit to Krishna's desire

Serves: 2
to have us back with Him in the eternal
Ingredients:
1 cup - mango, peeled and diced sky of krishna loka."

1 cup - yoghurt
crushed ice - Srila Prabhupada

milk, if needed
Contributed by ~ Sruthi Mungara (12)
Method:
1. Blend the mango, yoghurt and crushed ice in a
blender.
2. If its too thick, add a little milk to obtain the desired
consistency. Offer to Krishna and enjoy!

Lord Caitanya and the Brahmin One fine day a pious bramhana was traveling to all the holy
places, and finally came to the house of Lord Caitanya. Jagannath
By Dheeraj Kammari (12) Misra, Lord Caitanya’s father gave him a nice place to sit. After
sitting, the pilgrim spoke as follows: “I haven’t eaten for the
whole day. Can I make preparations and offer the bogha to
Krsna and then honor the remnants at your house”.
Jagannath Misra was very happy and said yes, and he immediately made preparations and let the bramhana offer in peace. No
sooner did the bramhana start praying, Nimai (Krsna himself as Lord Caitanya) came and ate one handful of rice. “Alas! Alas! my
offering is ruined”, said the bramhana. When Jagannath Misra heard this he came running to where the offer-
ing was being held. When he saw that Nimai was eating the bramhana’s offering he started chasing Nimai.
But the bramhana caught Jagannath Misra’s hand and said: “You are a knowledgeable person, what knowl-
edge does this little boy have? Don’t go chasing after Him”.
The second time Mother Saci put Nimai in someone else’s house. Lord Caitanya charmed everyone and left
the place completely unnoticed. He went to the place where the offering was being held, and ate the offering
again. Then Jagannath Misra took a stick and started chasing Nimai. As soon as Nimai heard his father’s foot-
steps, he fled from the place. Then the bramhana said, “There is no fault on the child, it is the will of the
Lord. So I will satisfy with fruits and vegetables today.”
Then Visvarupa, Nimai’s elder brother begged the bramhana to cook for the last time. The bramhana was
charmed by Visvarupa and agreed to cook. This time Jagannath Misra locked the doors from the outside so
Nimai could not get out. But by His mystical potencies He enchanted everybody and made them sleep to
disclose Himself to the bramhana. So He went to the bramhana and said, “You have been calling me; so,
that is why I came to accept your offering.” After saying this, Nimai showed his 8 handed form as Krsna. By
seeing the lord’s form, bramhana fainted, but as soon as Lord Caitanya touched him, he regained his con-
sciousness. But Nimai said, “If you disclose this fact that I’m the Supreme Personality of Godhead then I
shall destroy you.” After hearing this, the bramhana left the house in ecstasy to continue with his pilgrim-
age.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu Ki Jai!!!
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GAURASUNDAR AND HIS LOVING

After little Nimai started going to school, He used to play with His
PARENTS
friends in the river. They used to have many wonderful pastimes to-
By Sruthi Mungara (12) gether. Taking the opportunity, the supreme lord would kick water
with his lotus feet on to His other friends, thus showering them with
his mercy. Sometimes, after taking a bath, Nimai would make His
friends take another bath by spitting water on them.
Even though the brahmanas would tell Him it was wrong, little Nimai still used to do it. The fathers
of the boys would become upset and complain to Nimai's father. This way the Lord would enjoy pas-
times with His friends.
Similarly, to Sacimata, the young girls of Nadiya would complain by saying how Nimai was telling
them to worship Him instead of other demigods so they could get good husbands.
But after seeing the most charming face of Gaurasundara, His parents would forget all the com-
plaints and shower Him with their love and affection. Thus Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the lord of
the universe, performed His childhood pastimes.

By Panchajanya Mungara

R O V F U M E B W Q S M U X H
A U A Y R A H C A T I A V D A
O S K S K U U H P A A O O Y B
H I D A J B I J D Z T E H X M
W B K S H H Q N H M P Y G C H
Y Y A O A T A F Z V U J Z M I
B S H X I N S B Z B G Q I T E
L R P G A P C A T R I W A H H
N Y B Y Q Q K U V S R C D J R
G R T T X T W O L I A H Y M M
D I S K F P Y I W Q R D B C B
N M I Q S A J X A C U S K G S
B Q H V J F J A L X M N D O L
M V F Q Y S E J G N S B G R E
H E B I S G M U K U N D A C U
ADVAITACHARYA MUKUNDA MURARIGUPTA
NITYANANDA SRIVASTHAKUR

By Jayanth Kari (6)

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The Eight Instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1535) is the most recent incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Sri Krishna. He appeared 500 years ago in Navadvip, West-Bengal and started His worldwide Sankirtan mis-
sion of propagating the chanting of the holy name of the Lord (the process of self-realization for this age - to
meditate upon the sound of the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare). He left us these eight verses, called Siksastakam, in which
His mission and precepts are revealed.

Siksastakam # 1: Glory to the Sri Krishna Sankir-
tana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumu-
lated for years and extinguishes the fire of condi-
tional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankir-
tana movement is the prime benediction for humanity
at large because it spreads the rays of the benedic-
tion moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowl-
edge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss,
and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we
are always anxious.
Siksastakam # 2: O my Lord, Your holy name alone
can render all benediction to living beings, and thus
You have hundreds and millions of names like
Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names
You have invested all Your transcendental energies.
There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting
these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable
us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I
am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

Siksastakam # 3: One should chant the holy name
of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself
lower than the straw in the street; one should be more
tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false pres-
tige and should be ready to offer all respect to others.
In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name
of the Lord constantly.
Siksastakam # 5: O son of Maharaja Nanda
[Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or
other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death.
Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place
me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.
Siksastakam # 7: O Govinda! Feeling Your separa-
tion, I am considering a moment to be like twelve
years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like
torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world
in Your absence.
Siksastakam # 4: O almighty Lord, I have no desire
to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful
women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only
want Your causeless devotional service birth after
birth.
Siksastakam # 6: O my Lord, when will my eyes be
decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I
chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up,
and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at
the recitation of Your name?
Siksastakam # 8: I know no one but Krishna as my
Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me
roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted
by not being present before me. He is completely free
to do anything and everything, for He is always my
worshipful Lord unconditionally.
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Verse of the month

(Verse 11.5.32)
“Srimad Bhagavatham - By His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

By Sunethra Ramkumar (9)

ka-vara tvi ka

s gop g stra-p radam

yajai sakrtana-pr yair

yajanti hi su-medhasa

TRANSLATION
In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congrega-
tional chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who By Sunethra Ramkumar (9)
constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complex-
ion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied
by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential compan-
ions.

MY REALIZATIONS
This verse explains that Lord Caitanya is non-different from-
Lord Krishna. Even though Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead Himself, He is always engaged in describ-
ing Lord Krishna and enjoying the transcendental bliss by
chanting and remembering Lord Krishna's name and form.
Lord Caitanya's complexion was golden-yellow. To worship
Lord Caitanya one has to chant the following maha-mantra
which is very powerful -

Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this world to deliver all liv-

ing entities and this is the most merciful form of the Lord
because He did not use any weapons to subdue the demons,
unlike his other descents to this material world. The Lord
defeated the demoniac with His beauty and merciful nature.
As mentioned in the translation above, the Lord is always ac- This newsletter has been made possible by the inspiration, encour-
companied by His associates and confidential companions. agement, and support of His Holiness Romapada Swami and our
Lord Nityananda, Advaita Acharya, Gadhadar Pandit, and mentors. The newsletter team is very grateful to them.
Srivasa Prabhu are His intimate associates. We would like to encourage other children to join us and contribute
to this monthly newsletter. We would also be very happy to hear
I also understood from this verse that we should not identify
your valuable suggestions . Please contact us at dc.4r.kids@gmail.com
ourselves with any caste, creed or color and just make a show
of externalities. Instead, all that we have to do is to simply - NEWSLETTER TEAM

chant the maha-mantra to worship the Lord. By worshiping in

this way, we will naturally fulfill the highest religious purpose
of satisfying the Supreme Lord, who is the highest abode of
peace and devotion.