Sri Nityananda Trayodashi – February 2023

Sri Nityanand Trayodashi is the appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna appeared in Navadvipa, West Bengal as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to establish Sankirtana Movement (congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord). To help the Supreme Lord in His mission, Lord Balarama appeared as Nityananda Prabhu. He assisted Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by spreading he holy name of the Lord throughout Bengal.

Nityananda prabhu is the original spiritual master and the first servant of the Lord. He is the first teacher to disseminate knowledge about Lord Krishna after the Lord Himself. He fulfils His spiritual duty by engaging people in Lord’s service as well as by spreading knowledge and awareness about Him.

Kadamba Kanana Swami celebrated Sri Nityananda Trayodashi in Vrindavan. Please see the links to his lectures and zoom meetings below.

3^rd February – Sri Nityananda Trayodashi, Vrindavan, India

https://www.youtube.com/live/scwT60Wo0E4?feature=share

6^th Kusum Sarovar, India

https://www.youtube.com/live/eJOQ34PK2WM?feature=share

Weekly Zoom Meetings

4^th February

https://www.youtube.com/live/NvJ-WoHXjeA?feature=share

5^th February – Australian zoom meeting

11^th February

18^th February – Health update – last zoom meeting

Over the last several weeks HH Kadamba Kanana Swami became weaker and had difficulty with breathing, but he continued on. His last meeting was on 18^th February 2023 when he updated everyone about his health.

The article " Monthly Media – Feb 2023 " was published on KKSBlog.

Dear Devotees

On Thursday 9th March at 12.06pm, under the gaze of Śrī Giriraja, in the holy land of Śrī Vṛndāvana dhāma, in the loving company of his spiritual master and the vaisnavas, with a resounding kirtan party, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami departed from this material realm.

“Intelligent persons who take shelter of beautiful Vrndavana’s opulent vines melting with motherly love, and throw far away the idea that they are material, become supremely successful, both in this life and also after death.” (Prabhodananda Saraswati, Vrindavana Mahimamrta)

Samadhi & Memorial Services

Programmes for HH Kadamba Kanana Swami

All programmes will be live streamed & recorded 
ISKCON Vrindavan YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@ISKCONVrndavan
Kadamba Kanana Swami YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@MediaKadambaKananaSwami

Friday 10th March 2023

Procession & Samadhi Ceremony – 9.00am Onwards
The Procession will arrive at Krishna Balaram temple at 9.00am
The ceremony will then take place at the Gosalla Samadhi Area.

Kirtans – 3.00pm Onwards (@ Goshalla Pandal)

Saturday 11th March 2023

Memorial Programme (with special guests) – 8.00am
Onwards (Temple Room, Krishna Balaram Temple)

Special Feast – 1.00pm Onwards (Krishna Hall)

Sunday 12th March 2023

Memorial Programme (for Disciples only) – 10.00am
Onwards (ISKCON Extension Centre, Rukmini Vihar)

(note that all times above are IST)

The article " Kadamba Kanana Swami departs " was published on KKSBlog.

The New Year – January 2023

This month we celebrated Sri Advaita Acharya Appearance Day. Sri Advaita Acharya prabhu was born in 1434 in Nabagram, Bengal. He was the first among the associates of Lord Caitanya. He is recognised as a combined incarnation or expansion of Sri Maha Vishnu and Sri Sadashiva, Lord Shiva in Golok dham. Sri Advaita went to Vrindavan and became absorbed in the worship of Krishna. He discovered the deity of Sri Madan Mohan.

Kadamba Kanana Swami was still in Vrindavan this month and he gave many programs during this month as well. Please see the links to the programmes below:

2^nd January – Program at Balaram Hall

https://youtu.be/8qNQlj2Hp3M

5^th January – Srimad Bhagavatam class 10.29.19

https://youtu.be/A16DCjjj3tg

9^th January – Monday program

https://youtu.be/375WTxTHo60

10^th January – Mangal arati at Krishna Balaram Temple

16^th January – Monday program

https://www.youtube.com/live/9ssic7meKzc?feature=share

22^nd January – Australian Zoom meeting

https://youtu.be/MfHrEILucvE

23^rd January – Monday program

https://www.youtube.com/live/zZQs07m2adA?feature=share

30^th January – Monday program

https://www.youtube.com/live/uaGvq8MlAGo?feature=share

Weekly Zoom Meetings

7^th January

https://youtu.be/AxtXYLCNlms

14^th January

21^st January

28^th January

https://www.youtube.com/live/vKrJd0PRdL0?feature=share

Please stay tuned in and follow Kadamba Kanana Swami’s adventure.

The article " Monthly Media – Jan 2023 " was published on KKSBlog.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2 January 2023, Vrndavana, India, Balarama Hall Q&A Program)

A lot of time in our movement is spent with struggles and discussing struggles – struggles with chanting, struggles with following the regulative principles, struggles with living with devotees, struggles with the institution, struggles with accepting every aspect of the philosophy, struggles with our anarthas, struggles with old habits – so there is so much struggle. There are groups of devotees who are meeting because they have a problem with the internet – they go to the wrong websites and then they try to meet and overcome such struggles together – this is widespread. So, we are all struggling. And with these struggles, sometimes people also become hopeless. One person was expressing to me in a message how they are struggling, and they do not want to live anymore, and this is not an isolated incident where people feel like they can no longer cope. So, we have on one side the element of struggle and on the other hand we have the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Now this mercy is not something abstract that we are reading about, and we are saying how amazing it is, but it is something that is very tangible that we need in order to make everything worthwhile. This mercy is not a luxury, but it is essential to all that we do.

On this topic, I am thinking of some verses where Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami is saying, “I am more fallen than a worm in stool. I am so fallen that anyone who comes in contact with me loses all his pious credit.” So, hearing this, one might think how this is a serious case of low self-esteem and how this will not have a happy end. But then he says, “Despite all this, how amazing is it that someone as fallen as I am, has received the mercy of Lord Nityananda.” So, this is the case. With all of our weaknesses and with all of our shortcomings, there is that unique mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, and it is that mercy and the mercy of their representatives like Srila Prabhupada, who then add their own bit of mercy, that this movement is growing and carrying on. And in this way, we are sustained in spiritual life.

You can watch the full program on our YouTube channel or by clicking below:

The article " Finding mercy amidst struggle " was published on KKSBlog.

Book Marathon and Gita Jayanti – December 2022

The book marathon is an annual event, in which everyone is encouraged to distribute the spiritual knowledge of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Running for a month in the winter, the event started with humble beginnings in 1972 upon noticing that shops stayed open later during the festive season, making the streets of towns and cities bustling places to engage with people and share the secrets of Vedic wisdom.

Gita Jayanti is the auspicious day of the advent of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita. This is the day on which Lord Krishna imparted the essence of Vedic knowledge to Arjuna over 5000 years ago and enlightened him about the ultimate goal of life. If one properly follows the instructions of Bhagavad-Gita, one can be freed from all miseries and anxieties in this life, and one’s next life will be spiritual. Bhagavat-Gita literally means the song of the Supreme Lord, Krishna. It is the most widely known Vedic literature in the world.

Kadamba Kanana Swami was still in Vrindavan in December. Please see the link to his programmes and weekly zoom meetings.

3^rd December – Pavan Sarovar, India

https://youtu.be/m1jrbLcYmE0

7^th December – Srimad Bhaghavatam 10.27.20 at Krishna Balarama temple, Vrindavan

https://youtu.be/KiUWZUdWcU0

19^th December – Seshayasi, India

https://youtu.be/RuA5g21OMww

25^th December – Program at Balaram Hall, Vrindavan

https://youtu.be/CeXwcli9Gws

Weekly Zoom Meetings

3^rd December

https://youtu.be/ZJBEQuUNOTs

10^th December

17^th December

https://youtu.be/ma5z75POXUw

24^th December

https://youtu.be/MvDhIqK5Aag

31^st December

Please stay tuned in and follow Kadamba Kanana Swami’s adventures.

The article " Monthly Media – Dec 2022 " was published on KKSBlog.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2 January 2023, Vrndavana, India, Balarama Hall Q&A Program)

I was reading some writings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and he was speaking about diksha guru and siksha guru and he was saying that the diksha guru is basically giving the name and explaining the meaning of the name and the siksha guru gives so much relevant instruction about spiritual life and how to practice devotional service. Now, it seems that in our movement, this separation about diksha guru and siksha guru is not so rigid. This is because when Srila Prabhupada was in Mayapur, one of his disciples who had met a Gaudiya-math sanyasi had been told by that sanyasi that Srila Prabhupada was his diksha guru and he was his siksha guru. And he said that to Prabhupada, who then told the disciple to go back to that Gaudiya-math sanyasi and tell him that Prabhupada is both his diksha guru and also his siksha guru.

You can watch the full program on our YouTube channel or by clicking below:

The article " Not so rigid " was published on KKSBlog.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2 January 2023, Vrndavana, India, Balarama Hall Q&A Program)

In the Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has given us a verse which is an open invitation. He is saying that if you are interested in logic and arguments, then apply them to the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. By doing so, you will experience amazement in your heart. So that is the foundation of this movement that the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is flowing, and the topmost love of God is made available to the most fallen. That is what happened and what is still happening everyday and every moment in our spiritual life. We are seeing how people have no idea what we are doing but are somehow becoming touched by this movement. Not only are some becoming convinced by the arguments found in the books, but many are unknowingly engaging in some devotional service. That level of ajnata-sukriti of unknown spiritual benefit is tremendous. There is one example where in one lecture, Srila Prabhupada is speaking about the microphone and saying that, “We don’t need a microphone, but we use a microphone to purify the microphone-maker”. That is extraordinary, that the potency of this movement is benefitting the microphone-maker also! In this way, all things and people that are engaged in devotional service are sharing the benefits. The impact of the sankirtana movement is way beyond our imagination but just by such revelations, we can begin to think about the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and how far it extends, and how the entire world is changed by this movement. And then our life is also changed!

You can watch the full program on our YouTube channel or by clicking below:

The article " Unknown spiritual benefit " was published on KKSBlog.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 October 2022, Vrndavana, India, Govardhana-puja Lecture)

These days, more and more people are becoming vegan, not only outside of our movement but also inside of our movement. Of course, Srila Prabhupada in the first Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam very much emphasises the importance about drinking milk. He also emphasises that milk sweets should be offered to the deities. Here, in Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada reserved the milk sweets for the Gurukula. Yes, they got all the milk sweets. Sometimes we would steal, and such things were going on. So milk is essential for the finer brain tissue. When the milk of the cows is offered to Krsna, then we all get the benefit, including the cows. So, this is the solution. Some devotees will say, ”Yes, I am vegan, but I will only take ahimsa milk.” But that was also not Srila Prabhupada’s program. Srila Prabhupada wanted milk to be there, offered to the deities and devotees and so on. So, I do not think we should change that. At the same time, I do think that we should be sensitive to the fact that the cows are being mistreated and if we simply just take the milk from cows that are mistreated, then that is not so nice. So, where we can, we should take the milk from the protected cows and we should take up this responsibility of protecting cows. At the same time, it is not realistic to just say, “ahimsa milk only.” Milk is essential, and only when milk is offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we are having it then. This is because cows are the centre of Krsna‘s life and therefore the cows should be in the centre of our lives. The way Krsna lives in Vrindavan is the perfect lifestyle. There is no better lifestyle. If we were all to live that, we would have a happy world.

The article " The perfect lifestyle " was published on KKSBlog.

Feeling Blessed

November was the month when Kartik ended, and this month was there a good time for reflection about what happened to us during that auspicious month, and it was the time to feel blessed. Moreover, it was the month when we could start the preparation for the book distribution marathon for December. During this month, Maharaj gave lectures, did kirtan and met us weekly on Zoom. 

Please see below the links to his lectures, kirtans and other events.

3 November 2022 – Govardhan Retreat Kirtan

5 November 2022 – Meeting with His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami

15 November 2022 – Srimad Bhagavatam 10.26.11-13 Lecture

16 November 2022 – Kirtan at Kusum Sarovar

20 November 2022 – Bahulavan Kirtan and Lecture

27 November – Unchagaon Kirtan and Lecture

28 November 2022 – Short Kirtan

https://www.facebook.com/kadamba.swami/videos/2925341074427674/

Weekly Zoom Meetings

5 November 2022 – HH Jayadvaita Swami Vyasapuja

19 November 2022

26 November 2022

Please stay tuned in and follow Kadamba Kanana Swami’s adventures.

The article " Monthly Media – November 2022 " was published on KKSBlog.

Govardhan Puja and Srila Prabhupada Disappearance Day – October 2022
The month of October was filled with celebration. We entered the month of Kartik from 8^th October. Kartik, also known as the month of Damodara, is a month for deepening one’s love for Krishna. It is considered by devotees of Krishna to be the holiest month of the year. During this month, devotees make extra vows, perform extra spiritual activities, and generally worship Krishna in His form as a young boy, Damodara, who was once bound at the waist by His mother, Yashoda, as a punishment for His mischievous childhood pastimes. During the Kartik month, every morning and evening at the temple, everyone has an opportunity to show their heartfelt love and devotion to the Lord by offering ghee lamps and singing before Him.

Govardhan puja is observed in the victory of Lord Krishna over Lord Indra. Lord Krishna, with a motive to save the entire village from the heavy rainfall, lifted the Govardhan Hill to provide shelter to the people. After seven days of huge rainfall, Lord Indra accepted his defeat and stopped the rainfall.

The disappearance day of Srila prabhupada is observed by his followers by offering prayers to him and feeling his separation. Simultaneously, heartfelt gratitude is also expressed to please his divine grace and seek his blessings.

Kadamba Kanana Swami continued to give lectures, kirtans and weekly meetings in Vrindavan, India. Please see the links to these events below.

5^th October – Srimad Bhagavatam class 10.24.16

https://youtu.be/GmQYKanKq6M

9^th October – First Day of Kartik, Sri Damodarashtakam

https://youtu.be/T–paOOOBq0

15^th October – Kusum Sarovar

Part 1

https://youtu.be/9O0sH8dHjA0

Part 2

Part 3

21^st October – Kishori Kund

21^st October – Ter Kadamba

https://youtu.be/5wc43LBjaKc

25^th October – Kirtan in Krishna Balarama temple

26^th October – Govardhan Puja

https://youtu.be/lGHAf97HvOs

27^th October – Srimad Bhagavatam class 1.18.2 (online)

https://youtu.be/xIuFMZkFcNs

Weekly Meetings

1^st October – at Balaram Hall

8^th October – Zoom meeting

https://youtu.be/xQ1_ROrPyQw

15^th October – Zoom meeting

29^th October – Zoom meeting

https://youtu.be/WO_fKc_Dg_4

Please stay tuned in and follow Kadamba Kanana Swami’s adventures.

The article " Monthly Media – October 2022 " was published on KKSBlog.