ISKCON New Govardhana

Gundica Marjana
Cleansing the temple of Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari.
Saturday, July 4, 2008.

All are welcome to participate cleansing the Lord’s temple with Vaishnavas.

We will start the day at 10am.

Please bring cleaning paraphernalia if you have any.

Gundica Marjana Ki ! Jai !

Please contact Gaura Shakti Devi Dasi for more information:

gaurashakti@exemail.com.au; Phone: 02-66722773, M: 0415276757

Gundica Temple (in Jagannath Puri, India) cleaning by Lord Caitanya, an incarnation of Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead. This festival is celebrated on an annual basis when the impurities and dirt in the temple are removed. The Founder of the Hare Krishna Movement, His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada established this festival in the West and Worldwide.

Excerpted from: Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya -lila, chapter 12, by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

TEXT 1
sri-gundica-mandiram atma-vrndaih
sammarjayan ksalanatah sa gaurah
sva-citta-vac chitalam ujjvalam ca
krsnopavesaupayikam cakara

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu washed and cleansed the Gundica temple with His devotees and associates. In this way He made the temple as cool and bright as His own heart, and thus He made the place befitting for Lord Sri Krsna to sit.

What is the hidden deeper meaning of Gundica-marjana, the cleaning of the Gundica Temple? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told some of the associates of the king, the king's guru Kasi Misra, the head pujari, and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, "I want to do Gundica-marjanam." In previous years, the King would tell some of his servants, "Go and clean the temple." But what could they do? They could sweep, but not with love and affection.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took the service. He first garlanded all of the Vaisnavas present, He put tilaka on them, and He gave them each one broom and one water pot. Then, headed by Sriman Mahaprabhu Himself, all the devotees went to the Gundica Temple while performing kirtanas: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare; Jaya Jagannatha Jaya Jagannatha Jaya Jagannatha Jaya Jagannatha, Jaya Baladeva Jaya Baladeva Jaya Baladeva Jaya Baladeva, Jaya Subhadra Jaya Subhadra Jaya Subhadra Jaya Subhadra. In this way they were all doing kirtana while carrying their brooms and pitchers.

All other persons looked on and wondered, "What new thing is going on? They are all totally mad. Why the brooms and jugs?" Some were laughing, and some were in wonder, and some were looking on very gravely.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates had gone to the temple by the medium of sankirtana. Once there, they all began to clean the temple, and with their brooms they collected many very big stones and and stone chips. What is the deeper meaning of “big stones”? Aparadha – Vaisnava-aparadha (offenses to Vaisnavas) and nama-aparadha (offenses to the holy name). When this was done Sriman Mahaprabhu threw them out of the temple – out of the "heart" temple. What did He throw out? Vaisnava-aparadha and nama-aparadha.

Don’t commit these aparadhas. Be careful regarding Vaisnava-aparadha, guru-avajna (ingratitude and disrespect towards Sri Guru), sastra nindanam (blaspheming Vedic literature) and the rest of the ten kinds of offenses to the holy name. Be also careful to avoid dhama-aparadha (offence to Lord Krsna’s holy abodes like Sri Vrndavana, Sri Navadvipa and Sri Jagannatha Puri); and also avoid the anarthas explained by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his Madhurya Kadambini: svarupa-brahma, asat-trsna, hrdaya-daurbalya, aparadha, laya, viksepa, and all others.* [see endnote 1]

Srila Rupa Gosvami has written in Sri Upadesamrta,

vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam
jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah
sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat

["A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world." (Upadesamrta, sloka 1)]

atyaharah prayasas ca
prajalpo niyamagrahah
jana-sangas ca laulyam ca
sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati

["One's devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) over endeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) Practising the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krsna consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements." (Upadesamrta, sloka 2)]

Moreover,

trnad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih.

["Thinking oneself to be even lower and more worthless than insignificant grass which has been trampled beneath everyone's feet, being more tolerant than a tree, being prideless, and offering respect to all others according to their respective positions, one should continuously chant the holy name of Sri Hari." (Siksastaka, sloka 3)]

You will have to give up all bad habits, but I know that you cannot. We are very fallen. Who can follow these verses? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Svarupa Damodara, Sri Raya Ramananda, Sri Brahmananda Bharati, Sri Paramananda Puri, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Acarya, Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi, Sri Vakresavara Pandita and others like them. They can do so.

First take shelter of your Gurudeva, and following him, take the shelter of all the pure devotees in his line – those in the guru-parampara. Call out to them, "O Svarupa Damodara, O Ramananda Raya! Please give me your shelter, I am dying." Call out in this way, while always weeping.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was acting as an acarya; He was doing the cleaning Himself and then teaching others. Some so-called guru may say, "I don't do it, but I tell my disciples, "You should chant at least 64 rounds." His disciples cannot ask him, "How many rounds do you do?" They fear, but any very bold disciple may ask, "How many rounds are you doing? And in what mood are you doing them?" That bogus guru, that kan-guru, will not be able to reply, but a real guru can say, "Oh, I try to do 64, sometimes more then that."

By His own behavior Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches all of us that we should especially try to give up pratistha, false pride. He Himself is Sri Krsna and Srimati Radhika; yet, when a Gaudiya bhakta was putting water on His feet and then drinking that water, He appeared displeased – though He was pleased. He told Sri Svarupa Damodara, "Oh, this Gaudiya; what is he doing? I will go to hell. In front of the temple deity – not deity, but the deity's simhasana (throne) – he is washing My feet and drinking that water. I will certainly have to go to hell."

Sri Svarupa Damodara at once pushed that boy, took him out of the temple and told him, "You have done very well. But others should be careful and therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was externally angry, just to teach others. Anyway, I will ask Him to be merciful to you. Wait here and I will call you." He returned and said, "O Mahaprabhu, that person was quite ignorant and foolish. He does not know anything, so please be merciful to him."

Sriman Mahaprabhu told Srila Jagadananda Pandita, Sri Svarupa Damodara, and others who were distributing mahaprasada after the cleaning of the Gundica Temple, because He knew the devotees liked sweets, "Give sweet preparations to all the Vaisnavas, and to Me only give laphra." Laphra means mixed boiled vegetables. Mahaprabhu Himself acted in this way, so don’t think, "Good preparations should be given to me, and the other, less tasty dishes should be given to others."

To give us practical instructions, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu cleansed the temple twice. His second cleansing was more thorough. The idea was to throw away all the stumbling blocks on the path of devotional service. He cleansed the temple with firm conviction, as is evident from His using His own personal garments for cleaning. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to see personally that the temple was thoroughly cleansed to the standard of clean marble. Clean marble gives a cooling effect. Devotional service means attaining peace from all disturbances caused by material contamination. In other words, it is the process by which the mind is cooled. The mind can be peaceful and thoroughly cleansed when one no longer desires anything but devotional service.

Even though all dirty things may be cleansed away, sometimes subtle desires remain in the mind for impersonalism, monism, success and the four principles of religious activity (dharma, artha, kama and moksa). All these are like spots on clean cloth. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also wanted to cleanse all these away.

By His practical activity, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu informed us how to cleanse our hearts. Once the heart is cleansed, we should invite Lord Sri Krsna to sit down, and we should observe the festival by distributing prasada and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to teach every devotee by His personal behavior. Everyone who spreads the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepts a similar responsibility. The Lord was personally chastising and praising individuals in the course of the cleaning, and those who are engaged as acaryas must learn from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu how to train devotees by personal example. The Lord was very much pleased with those who could cleanse the temple by taking out undesirable things accumulated within. This is called anartha-nivrtti, cleansing the heart of all unwanted things. Thus the cleansing of the Gundica-mandira was conducted by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to let us know how the heart should be cleansed and soothed to receive Lord Sri Krsna and enable Him to sit within the heart without disturbance.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also cleansed the Nrsimha temple inside and outside. Finally, He rested a few minutes and then began dancing. All around Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu all the devotees performed congregational chanting. The Lord, just like a maddened lion, danced in the middle. As usual, when Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced, there were perspiration, trembling, fading, tears, jubilation and roaring. Indeed, the tears from His eyes washed His body and those before Him. In this way Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu washed the bodies of all the devotees with the tears from His eyes. The tears poured like rains in the month of Sravana. The sky was filled with the great and loud chanting of sankirtana, and the earth shook from the jumping and dancing of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu always liked the loud chanting of Svarupa Damodara.

H.H. Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami

His Holiness Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja will be visiting New Govardhana from Monday, June 30th to Thursday, July 3^rd, 2008.

Maharaja will be giving morning and evening classes on “Varna Ashram Dharma” during his stay at New Govardhana.

Everyone is welcome.

All classes and seminars will be held in the temple room.

Monday 30^th June - Seminar 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Tuesday 1^st July - Srimad Bhagavatam class 7:30am
Seminar 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Wednesday 2^nd July – Srimad Bhagavatam class – 7:30am
Seminar 4:oopm – 6:00pm
Thursday 3^rd July-- Srimad Bhagavatam class 7:30am

SNANA YATRA

( THE BATHING CEREMONY OF LORD JAGANNATHA, HIS BROTHER LORD BALADEVA AND HIS SISTER SRIMATI SUBHADRA ).

Please come and enjoy this colourful occasion. Everyone will be able to bathe Their Lordships large and attractive forms. This festival has been practised for thousands of years. Lord Jagannatha was the earliest deity form of the Lord to be worshipped here on earth in this millennium. He is traditionally made of wood or clay and is always smiling broadly, as are Baladeva and Subhadra also. Their mood of happiness and benevolence is very charming. Please don’t miss this opportunity. The programme starts at 4:30pm.

The programme is as follows:

· 4:30pm Bhajans

· 5:00pm Class – H.H Mukunda Swami

· 5:30pm Jagannath Abhishek

· 6:30pm Arati and Kirtan

Maha Snana Yatra feast.

Everyone is welcome.

New Govardhana Community

If anyone would like to sponsor the following:

• Flowers - $ 151
• Abhishek - $ 251
• Maha Feast - 551

Please contact:
Gaurashaki Devi Dasi : 02-66722773, M: 0415276757, E-mail: gaurashakti@exemail.com.au
Govinda Caran Das: newgovardhana@aapt.net.au ;Phone: 02-66726385, 0403874097

ISKCON Australia Annual General Meeting for Temple Presidents will be held at New Govardhana from Wednesday, May 21st to Friday, May 23rd , 2008.

H.H. Prabhavisnu Swami, H.H. Ramai Swami, H.H. Devamrta Swami, H.H. Janananda Goswami and the temple presidents from all Australian ISKCON temples will be visiting New Govardhana during the Annual meeting.

There will be enlivening Kirtans and Srimad Bhagavatam classes given by visiting Sanyasis and devotees.

All are Welcome.

New Govardhana Community.

New Govardhana will celebrate Nrsimh Caturdasi ( The Appearance of Lord Nrsimhadeva),on Sunday, May 18, 2008

{ Fasting for Nrsimha Caturdasi until dusk on Monday, May 19, 2008 }

Everyone is Welcome.

Programme Starts at 4:00.

Programme:

• 4:00pm : Bhajan
• 4:30pm : Class
• 5:00pm : Dance Performance, Childrens' play
  
• 5:30pm : Abhishek, Arati and Kirtan
  Maha Feast

If you would like to take the opportunity to sponsor any of the following:
( Anyone may sponsor the full amount or a part of the total amount) :

Gaurashaki Devi Dasi : 02-66722773, M: 0415276757,
E-mail: gaurashakti@aapt.net.au

There will be seminars in the temple room from Thursday, March 13 to Sunday 16, 2008, Starting at 5pm until 6:30pm

Everyone is Welcome.

• Thursday 13th - Topic

We examine sources of problems—our own behavior, the external energy, and ways in which Krishna Himself is dealing with us. Then we consider the purposes for obstacles and the different ways in which devotees and materialists respond.

• Friday 14th - Topic

• Saturday 15th - Topic

• Sunday 16th - Sunday feast lecture at 4:30pm

• 4:00pm Bhajans
• 4:30pm Abhishek
• 5:30pm Class
• 6:30pm Drama
• 7:00pm Gaura Arati & Kirtan
  Feast
  Movie presentaion

Everyone is Welcome.

If you would like to take the opportunity to sponsor any of the following
( Anyone may sponsor the full amount or a part of the total amount) :

Who is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?

Sri Chaitanya is the Kali-yuga avatara, and He descended for the purpose of establishing the yuga dharma, which in this age is the chanting of Lord Krishna's names. He appeared in the guise of a devotee to perfectly show how the process of devotion should be followed and applied. It is something like a teacher drawing on the black board "A B C". We should not think the teacher is himself learning the alphabets, but he is doing it to show us how to write properly.

The inner purpose of Sri Chaitanya's incarnation was to experience the devotional love that Radharani has for Krishna. He wanted to experience the process of bhakti from the side of the devotee.

In other ages the Lord incarnates along with His weapons for destroying the demons, but in Kali yuga He shows special mercy to the demons by delivering them with nama-sankirtana. In the Kali-yuga there are practically only demons on this earth, so if the Lord were to kill the demons there would be nobody left. Instead He chose to kill the demoniac tendency within the heart of the demons by giving them Krishna bhakti.

Sri Chaitanya is described in the following verse composed by Sri Rupa Goswami:

namo maha-vadanyaya
krishna-prema-pradaya te
krishnaya krishna-caitanya-
namne gaura-tvishe namah

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Chaitanya, who is the most merciful incarnation. He has appeared in a golden color for the purpose of freely distributing pure love of Krishna."

In other incarnations, Lord Krishna would require the devotee to first surrender to Him: sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja. But in the incarnation as Sri Chaitanya, He would go to the non-devotees and freely distribute krishna-prema to all. This is the unique blessing of this age of Kali. Despite it being the most sinful age, the process of self-realization is the simplest and most accessible to all classes of men.

Lord Chaitanya's incarnation is mentioned and predicted in numerous scriptures. The following are some of the important references.

In the Atharva Veda (Purusha-bodini Upanishad) it is said:

"In the seventh manvantara, the Supreme Lord will, accompanied by His own associates, descend in a golden form. He will teach the chanting of His own holy names."

It is further stated in the Atharva Veda:

"The Supreme Lord Himself says: When between four thousand and five thousand years of Kali-yuga have passed, I will descend to the earth in a place by the Ganges' shore. I will be a tall, saintly brahmana devotee of the Lord, and have a golden complexion. I will be renounced and free from all desire. I will accept the order of renunciation (sannyasa). I will be a devotee advanced in bhakti-yoga. I will chant the holy names of the Lord. I will taste the sweet mellows of My own devotional service. Only the great devotees will understand Me."

In the Sama Veda the Lord states:

"To deliver the people devoured by the sins of Kali-yuga, I will, accompanied by My associates, descend to the earth in a place by the Ganges shore. I will be a brahmana avadhuta sannyasi. Again and again I will chant the holy names of the Lord."

In the Krishna Upanishad it is stated:

sa eva bhagavan yuge turiye 'pi brahma-kule jayamanah sarva upanishadah uddidirshuh sarvani dharma-shastrani vistarayishnuh sarvan api janan santarayishnuh sarvan api vaishnavan dharman vijrimbhayan sarvan api pashandan nicakhana

"In the Kali-yuga, Lord Krishna will appear in a brahmana's family. He will teach the message of the Upanishads and the dharma-shastras. He will defeat the atheists and offenders and He will establish the truth of Vaishnava dharma."

In the eleventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam the following verse is found:

krishna-varnam tvishakrishnam
sangopangastra-parshadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah

"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead, who constantly sings the name of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions."

In the seventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam is the following verse describing the Lord's incarnations:

channah kalau yad abhava tri-yugo 'tha sa tvam

"Because in Kali-yuga You appear in a covered incarnation, you are therefore known as Tri-yuga (one who appears in only three yugas)."

The incarnation of Sri Chaitanya is a hidden incarnation because He appears in the guise of His devotee. This covered incarnation is confirmed in both the Adi Purana and the Narada Purana in the following verse:

bhagavad-bhakta-rupena
lokam rakshami sarvada

"My true identity always concealed, I will assume the form of a brahmana devotee of the Lord. In this form I will deliver the worlds."

New Govardhana will celebrate:

Rama Navami, The Appearance of Lord Ramachandra
on Sunday, April 13, 2008.
(Fasting for Rama Navami on Monday, April 14,till Sunset)