From November 1 to November 30, 2020
Hare Krishna!
The temple is unfortunately closed due to the Coronavirus situation in Antwerp and the devotees do their personal daily offering of their Ghee lamp to Lord Krishna and the singing of Damodarastakam at home or follow online programs to get together.
The Padma Purana describes the month of Kartik as Krishna’s favorite month. Devotional activities performed during this holy month are rewarded with greater spiritual results than usual, so devotees often take vows to increase their spiritual practices or to simplify their material needs for the entire month. It is an important way in which they can remember Krishna more and increase their service to Him. Kartik (Damodara) is the best, the most powerful cleanser of the soul and the most glorious of all months. Lord Krishna is especially fond of his devotees in this month. Any devotional activity, even a little, will yield tremendous results.
Kartik, or the festival of offering lamps to Lord Krishna, glorifies Lord Krishna’s Lila, or pastimes to be tied with ropes by Mother Yasoda.
The Padma Purana further recommends offering a ghee lamp to Lord Krishna daily during Kartik, so also in all the Hare Krishna temples worldwide, devotees offer ghee lamps to Krishna in the morning or evening while they singing the Damodarastika prayers. These beautiful verses taught to the devotees by Srila Prabhupada glorify the play of Damodara of Krishna that took place.
Many festivals related to the pastimes of Krishna or His devotees take place during this month: Rasa-lila, Diwali, Govardhana Puja, Appearance of Radha-Kund and Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day festival.
Some advantages of offering a lamp in the month of Kartika mentioned in the Vedic scriptures:
“When someone offers a lamp during the month of Kartik, his sins in many thousands and millions of births pass away in an instant.”
“Please hear the glory of offering a lamp pleasing to Lord Kesava. O king of brahmanas, a person offering a lamp in this way will not be born again in this world.”
“By offering a lamp during the month of Kartik, one obtains a pious result ten million times greater than that obtained by bathing in Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse or by bathing in the Narmada River during a lunar eclipse.”
“Someone who offers a lamp to Lord Kesava during the month of Kartik has already performed all the yajnas and bathed in all the sacred rivers.”
“The ancestors say: If anyone in our family pleases Lord Kesava by offering Him a lamp during the month of Kartik, then by the grace of the Lord holding the Sudarsana-cakra in His Hand, we will all attain liberation.”
“By offering a lamp during the month of Kartika you burn a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. There is no doubt about that.”
“A person who offers a lamp during the month of Kartik achieves a result that cannot be achieved even with a hundred yaj- nas or a hundred pilgrimages.”
“A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krishna during Kartik reaches the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering.”
Further, excerpts from the scriptures (Puranas) describing the glory of the pious Kartik month:
“If anyone performs even a small worship of Lord Shri Hari in this month, He offers that devotee His own abode.”
“If anyone burns a lamp in the temple of Lord Shri Hari even for a short time (in the month of Kartik), then all the sins acquired by him, millions of kalpas (one kalpa equals 1000 yugas) are all destroyed.”
“Someone who only eats in Kartik once a day all month will become very famous, powerful, and heroic.
“Someone who enjoys reading Bhagavad Gita in the month of Kartik does not return to the world of birth and death.”
“Of all the gifts, the gift of a lamp during the month of Kartik is the best. No gift is equal.”
“The pious result obtained by bathing in all holy places and giving all charity is not equal to one ten-millionth of the result obtained by following the vow of Kartik.”
In this month, let’s:
- Offering our ghee lamp with love to Lord Damodara
- Thinking of Krishna by:
- By chanting more than we normally do.
- By reading extra from the Bhagavad Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam.
- By hearing a lecture every day.
- By going on a Harinama Sankirtan party.
- By celebrating the Festivals taking place this month, like Govardhan Puja, Diwali, etc.
- By trying to do only that which pleases Lord Krishna.
- By giving someone a Bhagavad Gita, etc.
Sri Sri Radha Damodara Ki-Jaya Srila Prabhupada Ki-Jaya
Hare Krishna!
Recent Comments