Kartika 2026 starts soon!
- Pilgrimage for Kartik
- Offering Candles to Damodara
- SumptuousPrasadam
- Q: Is the material world ‘fake’…?
( Japa continues daily from 6:30am SLT; Fridays at 6am, followed by a Caitanya Caritamrta reading. )
Pilgrimage for Kartik
Visit the 10 Dashavatara contemplation shrines during the auspicious month of Kartik to deepen your spiritual practice and absorb the serene atmosphere of the community. Look for this sign, in-world, near the entrance to grab the guide map.
https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Archers/220/187/26
You may ask: Dashavatar, huh? The ten avatars of Krishna? Who are they? You have all ten in Bhaktiville?
You can visit them all spaced out over ten days, or ten hours, or only ten minutes. Each temple has images and the stories and descriptions of each avatar to gift you.
Offering Candles to Damodara
Participate in the traditional evening ritual of offering candles while adding prayers dedicated to Lord Damodara at the small altar in the temple room.
Sumptuous Prasadam
Enjoy a selection of vegetarian meals prepared with devotion, sharing fellowship with other community members after programs and discussions. There’s a long table in the main temple’s eastern hallway. Wait!… is that Cherry pie and Caramel apples!
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Even though physically a temple may be too far away to travel to, or when there is nobody nearby to form a communnity with, people from all around the world can engage in devotional service by doing fun things in Bhaktiville!
Bhaktiville invites you to take a fun few moments to step out of this heavy illusion and take a stroll in beautiful uplifting reality… remove your head from out of the clouds and relax in the unlimited expanse of the clear blue sky…
Q: Is the material world ‘fake’, similar to a virtual reality, or a simulation?
From a Vaishnava perspective, the material world is not entirely a ‘fake’ illusion, it resembles more a temporary, projected reality.
Temporary Reality (satyatva)
The material world is considered to be temporary or changing (asat), whereas the spiritual world is eternal. It’s existence is compared to a reflection or a shadow.
Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both. — B.G.2.16
In our experience, the clouds in the sky are not false, they are existing temporarily (asat) and the sky always exists (sat) above us.
Our purpose is to be engaged in the permanent (sat) platform of Krishna Consciousness, not in the nonpermanent (asat) platform of Material Nature.
Divine Energy (maya)
The divine Energy is not an independant power in opposition to Krishna. It is a real energy emanating from Krishna to create a conditioned environment for souls who wish to experience independence from Him.
The spiritual potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead also appears in three phases — internal, marginal and external. These are all engaged in His devotional service in love. — CC Madhya 6.160
Living entities are expressed in the marginal potency (bahiranga-shakti), the world around them is expressed in the external potency (maya-shakti).
When we are in “maya“, we are not free; we are covered or obscured in a kind of ‘sleep’. Being engaged in devotional service with love and affections, we are freed, and the covers are taken off, we can wake up and can leap out of bed! Hari bol!
Mispercieved Emanation (mithyā nahe)
The theory of illusion can be applied only when the living entity identifies himself with the body. As far as the cosmic manifestation is concerned, it cannot be called false, although it is certainly temporary. — CC Madhya 6.173
The material energy emanates from the Absolute Truth (Krishna), therefore, it is real energy (shakti), but it is being misused or misperceived when we try to be its enjoyers rather than its caretakers.
Conclusion
In modern terms, comparing this concept to a sophisticated virtual reality is a very apt analogy: the hardware, code, and environment are real (originating from the programmer/Supreme Lord), but the immersive experience, the avatars we identify with, and the permanent importance we assign to the game are ultimately temporary constructs meant to serve a higher educational and transformative purpose.
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