The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarama is his second body. They are both one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Balarama is the first bodily expansion of Krishna, and He assists in Lord Krishna’s transcendental pastimes. He is the source of the entire spiritual world and is the adi-guru, the original spiritual master.

Lord Balarama is the first expansion of Lord Krishna appearing as His elder brother eight days before Krishna’s appearance in this world. While Krishna’s complexion is like a dark bluish cloud, Balarama’s complexion is like a white autumn cloud. He assisted Lord Krishna in His earthly pastimes of protecting the devotees and ridding the world of the misguided. Whilst Krishna is known for carrying a flute whose beautiful sound enchants His devotees, Balarama holds a plough in His hand that represents His strength.

Devotees fast till noon on this day, followed by a feast in His honour.

Today is the appearance anniversary of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada. He was born in 1896 in Calcutta, India, into a family of Krishna devotees. At age twenty-two, he met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, who encouraged him to spread the mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in English. At the age of sixty-nine, Srila Prabhupada left India for the U.S.A. with a trunk full of his own Srimad-Bhagavatamcommentaries. In the next twelve years, he started a worldwide movement, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and had translated over eighty books onKrishna consciousness. His followers fast until noon today and prepare a feast in his honor.

We celebrate from 16:00 – 24:00

For convenience and to suggest a celebration, we sometimes say that Janmastami is Krishna’s birthday, since anyone we know of on Earth, either past or present, is apparently “born” into this world. However, this is not an accurate description for Krishna (who we understand as the original feature of God), or for any of God’s other incarnations.

Why?

There is no “birth” or “death” for God, since by definition He is primeval, always existing, the source of everything, who has no material form with a particular date of creation. In fact even the individual soul—ourselves—are spoken of as unborn (aja), since spiritually, eternally, we are all part of God. According to the Bhagavad-gita which is Krishna’s song or sermon, God is understood to “appear” at various times to serve His purposes. These purposes are generally understood to be reestablishing religious principles, to uplift and inspire the faithful, and to vanquish the miscreants who are causing major world problems. He is compared to the sun which appears to be “born” at sunrise, and “die” at sunset, but is actually always existing beyond our view.

Radhastami is celebrated by Krishna devotees as the appearance anniversary of Srimati Radharani, who is Krishna’s greatest devotee, the feminine aspect of the Absolute Truth, and Krishna’s energy Personified.

Join us in celebrating, meditating on, and trying to understand the significance of this extraordinary day.

Srimati Radharani is the eternal consort of Lord Krishna. Five thousand years ago, when Lord Krishna came to this planet to perform His pastimes, Srimati Radharani also appeared. This year we celebrate her appearance on September 15. This special day is known as Radhashtami. The following is adapted from a lecture by His Holiness Varshana Swami:

“On a half-moon night in the month of Bhadra, King Vrishabhanu came to the Jamuna to bathe and found himself engulfed in a golden aura, the golden aura of pure love. It was emanating from a lotus, which had a baby girl standing on its whorl. When the king returned to the palace with the baby, Queen Kirtida was delighted. She was also shocked that the girl was blind.

“Lord Krishna’s mother, Yashoda, heard that her best friend Kirtida had a baby, so she came to visit along with her husband and her son. Krishna crawled up to the cradle and pulled Himself up and looked in. At that moment, Srimati Radharani’s eyes fluttered and opened wide and blossomed like lotuses. It seems that she did not want to see anything of this world, only the form of Sri Krishna. Everyone was delighted.

“Srimati Radharani is the mother of the universe, the spiritual mother of all souls. And the concept of mother is the most sacred symbol—that of purity, selflessness, caring, sharing, nurturing, and love. That is why our sacred mantra is the holy names. It is the holy names in the vocative. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

“‘Hare’ means ‘Radhe.’ It is a plaintive, desperate cry for the mother. ‘Radhe! Please wake us up from this nightmare of mortal life! Remind us of the father we have forgotten and take us home!’”

In the Krishna consciousness movement, devotees carefully worship Srimati Radharani as the bestower of devotional service to Krishna, by attentively chanting her name in the maha-mantra, by worshiping her deity form, and by following the instructions of the most merciful Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the combined form of Radha and Krishna.

“(Therefore) Radha is parama-devata, the supreme goddess, and She is worshipable for everyone. She is the protectress of all, and She is the mother of the entire universe.” —Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi 4.89

Learn More…

• Sri Radha—the Feminine Divine
• Radha, Krishna’s Female Counterpart
• Srimati Radharani’s Artistic Qualities
• The Names of Srimati Radharani
• Radharani—The Feminine Side of God
• The Meeting of Radha and Krishna
• Radharani’s Mood of Separation
• That Internal Potency is Radharani
• The Qualities of Srimati Radharani
• Radharani Gallery

Kartika is considered by devotees of Krishna, Vaishnavas, to be the holiest month of the year. It occurs during October-November, at the end of the four-month period of rainy and autumn seasons—Chaturmasya—in India. 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 to prevent Him from mischief.

Traditionally, itinerant priests and preachers would take a break from their travels during this time. Observers of Kartika may also practice some voluntary sense control by refraining from eating their favorite foods. Two major festivals during Kartika are Diwali and Govardhan Puja.

Itinerant priest and preacher Sacinandana Swami has this to say about Kartika:

“During the month of Kartika, which falls across October and November in the lunar calendar, devotees of Lord Krishna are advised to increase their concentration on His worship by dedicating their daily devotional hearing and chanting to Srimati Radharani, His eternal consort. . . anyone can apply this principle anywhere by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, which addresses both Radha and Krishna: ‘O energy of the Lord (Radha), O Lord (Krishna), please engage me in your service.’”

our celebrations will start at 16:00 and end at 20:00

The day after Diwali is called Annakuta, or Govardhana Puja. On this day the inhabitants of Vrindavan (Lord Krishna’s abode on Earth) used to hold a festival to honor King Indra, the demigod responsible for providing the rains essential for a successful harvest.

One day, however, sensing that Indra had become overly proud of his position as king of heaven, Lord Krishna convinced the residents of Vrindavan to modify their festival and celebrate Govardhana Hill instead, arguing that it was the fertile soils on the hill that provided the grass upon which the cows and bulls grazed; that the cows and bulls who provided milk and ploughed the lands should be worshiped. This turn of events naturally upset the mighty Indra, who retaliated with terrifying rains and thunderstorms.

Seeing this, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, calmly lifted Govardhana Hill with the little finger of His left hand and held it up like a giant umbrella, providing a shelter for the people and animals of Vrindavan from the torrential downpours. The rains intensified. Indra’s fury raged. Finally, after seven days, beholding the wonder of the situation and realizing the futility of his own actions, King Indra surrendered. He came down from the heavens and bowed before Lord Krishna with folded hands, offering prayers and asking for forgiveness. He realized his true position as servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way Lord Krishna demonstrated that He is Deva Deva, the Lord of the Demigods, and that any purpose for which demigods might be worshiped could easily be served by worshiping Him, the supreme cause of all causes.

Several thousand years later, on this same day, Srila Madhavendra Puri established a temple for the self-manifest Gopala Deity on top of Govardhana Hill.

To celebrate this festival, devotees build a replica of Govardhana Hill made of various opulent foods, worship Lord Krishna as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, worship the hill as His incarnation, and worship the cows and bulls who are dear to the Lord. At the end of the festival, the hill of prasada (sanctified food) is distributed to the public. All Vaishnava temples in India and throughout the world observe this ceremony, and hundreds of people are fed prasada according to the capacity of each temple.

Kartika is considered by devotees of Krishna, Vaishnavas, to be the holiest month of the year. It occurs during October-November, at the end of the four-month period of rainy and autumn seasons—Chaturmasya—in India. 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 to prevent Him from mischief.

Traditionally, itinerant priests and preachers would take a break from their travels during this time. Observers of Kartika may also practice some voluntary sense control by refraining from eating their favorite foods. Two major festivals during Kartika are Diwali and Govardhan Puja.

Itinerant priest and preacher Sacinandana Swami has this to say about Kartika:

“During the month of Kartika, which falls across October and November in the lunar calendar, devotees of Lord Krishna are advised to increase their concentration on His worship by dedicating their daily devotional hearing and chanting to Srimati Radharani, His eternal consort. . . anyone can apply this principle anywhere by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, which addresses both Radha and Krishna: ‘O energy of the Lord (Radha), O Lord (Krishna), please engage me in your service.’”

Tulsi Vivaha is the ceremonial marriage of the Tulsi (holy basil) plant to the Hindu god Shaligram or Vishnu or to his avatar, Sri Krishna. The Tulsi wedding signifies the end of the monsoon and the beginning of the wedding season in Hinduism. (wikipedia)

Picture:shubhtithi.com

our celebrations will start at 16:00 and end at 20:00

Diwali is a five-day festival widely known as the Hindu New Year, and comes from the Sanskrit word dipavali (dipa, lights and vali, numerous. The festival is commonly observed by illuminating hundreds of candles in homes, temples and public spaces, and by offering opulent preparations of food to the deity.

In ancient times, Diwali was first observed by the citizens of Ayodhya to celebrate the joyful return of King Rama, an incarnation of Krishna. In another era, this was also the day when Lord Krishna performed His Damodara childhood pastime of breaking the pots of yogurt and letting Himself be bound by Mother Yashoda. Devotees remember these pastimes during this auspicious month known as Karttika.

The Founder-Acharya of the Hare Krishna Movement, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote about Diwali in a letter to a disciple:

“Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating 100’s of candles, in different parts of the temple, and offering special Prasad to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the Kingdom of Lord Ramacandra, while Lord Ramacandra was out of His Kingdom due to His 14 years banishment by the order of His father. His younger step-brother Bharata, took charge of the Kingdom and the day on which Lord Ramacandra took back the charge again from His brother, and seated on the throne, this is observed as Diwali function. This is the original idea of Diwali, and Dipabali. Dipabali means the same thing—Dipa means candles, and bali means numerous. When numerous candles are lighted it is called Dipabali. In India, this Dipabali function is celebrated in a special auspicious occasion.”

Today is celebrated as Gita Jayanti, the day on which the Bhagavad-gita was spoken by Krishna to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra. The Bhagavad-gita continues to be one of the world’s most popular and inspiring books, covering topics such as the immortality of the self, the origin of all existence, how to remain peaceful in the most trying circumstances, and the relationship between us and God.