Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Jayatah
Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Antya 9.138-10.38 
April 6, 2013 Sadhu-Sanga — HH Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja and the devotees read from Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita.
- Gopinatha Pattanayaka continues to declare that detachment from material opulence is the true mercy from the Lord. He asks Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to bestow His mercy so that he may become renounced.
- The Lord then questions who will take care of Gopinatha's large family if he becomes renounced and declares that Gopinatha and his brothers have always been His devoted servants. The Lord then enjoins Gopinatha to stop spending the King's revenue.
- Sripad Puri Maharaja then relates the experiences from today's meeting at the Princeton BVI office and advises that we must trust in the will of the Lord regarding the success of our preaching efforts. He explains that if our intentions are sincere, then pure attachment to the lotus feet of the Lord will become our highest achievement.
- Maharaja explains that if one should gain some material opulence, then we should take what is needed for our maintenance, and then spend the balance for the Lord's service.
- The next chapter opens with Advaita Acharya Gosani leading the devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri for the annual Rathayatra fesival. Despite the fact that Lord Nityananda was instructed to remain in Bengal, he came anyway due to his great love for the Lord. Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami explains that Krsna is certainly pleased when we carry out His orders. However, His pleasure is increased millions of times when we break His orders due to ecstatic love.
- Raghava Pandita came with many bags full of food prepared by his sister, Damayanti. The Lord ate continually for one year from the hundreds of varieties of condiments and pickles. Damayanti made all these preparations following the order of her brother. Both had unlimited love for the Lord.
- Sripad Puri Maharaja discusses various ways to increase one's Krsna Consciousness by participating in temple activities.
- Sripad Puri Maharaja and the devotees conclude with a discussion of various aspects of the preparation and consumption of prasadam.
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—with Sripada Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja, Ph.D.
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Monday, April 22, 2013
The True Mercy of the Lord
Historic Rama temple cries for attention
A Rama temple replete with history in this coastal village, covered by sand dunes, will vanish from public view forever unless urgent steps are taken to protect it.
Located some 100 to 150 metres from the sea tide level, only the temple tower is visible now.
The sleepy village is full of artefacts of both pre-historic and historic periods throwing light on the rich culture of the Andhra Pradesh people down the ages.
"The temple seems to belong to the period of Chalukyas or Telugu Cholas and calls for a detailed study," said State Archaeology and Museums in-charge Director G.V. Ramakrishna Rao told The Hindu.
'Worthy of protection'
"The site is worthy of protection," said Mr. Rao, who recently visited the village to take stock of the condition of the State Archaeological Museum, named after Andhra Pradesh's first Chief Minister T. Prakasam Pantulu in the village.
"I have instructed the Assistant Director [Museums] to send proposals and necessary information," he added.
"The museum's caretaker has been asked to liaise with local revenue officials and get boundary and other particulars after perusing the revenue records for us to go ahead with preparation of a historical note," explained Assistant Director [Museums] S. Bangaraiah.
"Once they are ready we will go ahead with preparation of a detailed project report for consideration by a State-level committee," he added.
Collection of artefacts
The museum in the village with a wonderful collection of stone inscriptions in Prakrit and Brahmi and other artefacts would be expanded and renovated to showcase the political, socio-economic and cultural aspects of the life of Andhra people for several centuries, Mr. Rao added.
Centre of Buddhism
The archaeological evidence found in and around Kanaparthi show that it was a flourishing centre of Buddhism and also Jainism and could be put on the international tourism circuit, felt social activist Komatla Trinatha Reddy, national Gram Ratan awardee.
"The flat beach is an ideal one for sea bathing," added the former MPTC member and Bharat Nirmal Volunteer.
The museum houses statues of Ganesh, Kumaraswamy, Narayani, Brahmini, Surya, Parasurama, and Varahini, besides numerous Sivalingas of different sizes and shapes, including a finely chiselled "Dhara sivalinga," with 32 dimensions. Non-indigenous stones were imported for making attractive Sivalingas by expert sculptors at the Yelleswara temple before exporting them to different destinations in south-east Asian countries.
Ramayana for Kids
Valmiki is known as AdiKabi, the first poet. He wrote an epic in Sanskrit, the Ramayana, which depicts the true life of King Rama.
Sri Ram Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama to Queen Kausalya of Ayodhya and King Dasharatha. This festival is celebrated to proclaim the birth of Sriram, the 7th incarnation of Shri Vishnu. Celebrations of Ram Navami start on Gudhipadwa, the first day of Chaitra and continue for nine days. During this period, devotees do periodic readings of Ramayan, recite the Ramraksha Stotra (hymns glorifying Shri Ram), sing bhajan-kirtan in his praise and chant his name. Rama Rajya, the reign of Sri Rama, is a rare period of prosperity and peace in India. This festival commemorates the birth of Shri Rama who is remembered for his righteous and prosperous reign.
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