Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Janani Radha mataji, known among the Mayapur community as ‘Gopaler Ma’, left her body on 8th October , after battling with cancer for eight months. She is a long term resident of Sri Mayapur dhama and for around 26 years, she has been engaged in the seva of offering Tulasi arti for matajis section. Any […]
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The New Talavan farm community was begun as a project in June of 1974. At first it was just a few devotees from the New Orleans temple who came out and slowly began planting gardens. They worked as time permitted and then returned to the New Orleans temple at night, a round trip of about 130 miles. Soon some devotees began staying on the farm full time. Read more ›
Video of Parikshit dasa leading New Vrindaban’s 24 Hour Kirtan – June 15th, 2013.
It is said that Ohrid is the, ‘meanest town in Macedonia.’ Local tradition says the Devil created Ohrid. The saying goes that when someone challenged that the town is so beautiful the Devil smiled and replied, “Yes, but the people are as mean as can be!” Read more ›
ONE DAY ON POLISH FESTIVAL OF INDIA TOUR 2013
The word ‘self-conscious’ refers to an excessive awareness of one’s appearance and actions. For example, when we give our first public speech, we may be self-conscious, that is, too worried about how we look and how we speak. Self-consciousness can be crippling. It can divert our mental energy away from concentrating on doing our actions […]
Introduction to Krishna Consciousness 2013-07-27
“Lord Caitanya instructed us to be more humble than the grass on the street, and more tolerant than the trees, and to offer all respects to all, demanding no respect for ourselves. All these nice qualifications make one worthy to chant Hare Krishna.”Le…
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Radhastami Lecture) The beauty of Srimati Radharani is the topmost beauty but it is not ordinary beauty or merely external beauty. That beauty is a reflection of her love for Krsna. In the Caitanya Caritamrta, there is a section of verses which describe how Srimati Radharani […]
I got a request via Contact Me on this blog for the recipe for oat water so here I am obliging. I am going to attempt to rebrand it as oat broth. The basic principle is to use more water that normal and cook it longer Currently I use old fashioned oats and about 4 […]
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 9.3 at a home program in Dallas. “The faithless cannot accomplish this process of devotional service; that is the purport of this verse. Faith is created by association with devotees. Unfortunate people, even after hearing all the evidence of Vedic literature from great personalities, still have no faith […]
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The pure devotee does not endeavor for anything which is against the principles of devotional service. For example, constructing a big building requires great energy, and a devotee does not take to such business if it does not benefit him by advancing his devotional service. He may construct a temple for the Lord, and for […]
On Sunday afternoon, Mr.Rajiv Shukla, Member of Parliament, IPL Chairman, BCCI Vice President came to ISKCON Juhu for Darshan of Sri Sri Radha Rasabihariji. I talked to him that it’s nice that you came to temple for darshan… Read more ›
HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami, ISKCON Malaysia President, has attained full consciousness. Semi-solid food is being recommended by doctors as Maharaja’s appetite is gradually improving. His liver is functioning better than before. Speech clearer, physical strength picking up. In fact, Maharaja is so eager to speak that he is calling devotee on phone Read more ›
Vegavati devi dasi, from Iskcon Alachua, gave the Invocation at the County Commissioners Meeting. She read from the Bhagavad-gita where Krishna speaks of the particular responsibilities of leaders Read more ›
The post October 8th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Krsna is in control. Many of our guests will remember the summer of 2012, when there were big electric storms in the New Vrindaban area, notably on the July 4 long weekend, and the electricity went down for a long time. We were helpless to make things work more quickly. There was also a severe […]
Sewa is a universal concept, which involves performing an act of kindness without expectation of reward. It is performed selflessly and without ulterior motive.
As a concept, Sewa in embedded in Indian traditions, and is actively promoted by different cultures and faiths – as the core belief is the same – to sacrifice your time and resources for the benefit of others without wanting anything in return. Read more ›
There are many purificatory processes for advancing a human being to spiritual life. The marriage ceremony, for example, is considered to be one of these sacrifices. It is called vivaha-yajna. . . . The Lord says here that any sacrifice that is meant for human welfare should never be given up. Vivaha-yajna, the marriage ceremony, is meant to regulate the human mind so that it may become peaceful for spiritual advancement. (Bg. 18.5, purport) Read more ›
It’s easy to take mothers for granted. In an attempt to estimate the monetary value of ‘motherly love’, some researchers spent a week following around one such mother. She took the kids to school, so they calculated how much a taxi driver would cost. She cooked the breakfast, lunch and dinner so they approximated the wage bill of a cook. The mother also played the role of a cleaner, psychologist, accountant and nurse to name but a few. They calculated the overtime the mother put in, and how she would often go on for years without any time off (every family holiday she was fully on-call). After crunching the numbers, they discovered that to employ such a mother would set you back in the region of £150,000 a year!
That, however, doesn’t tell you the full story; the quality of the job is what really stands out. The service of a mother is incredibly selfless and unceasing. They don’t stipulate any expectation in return for their services, and are delighted when offered the opportunity to go beyond the call of duty. What to speak of receiving benefits, even when children act in irrational and ungrateful ways, the mother happily continues to serve. Their service unfailingly continues day after day, and even when the child becomes a grown adult the outpouring of motherly love doesn’t subside.
Ancient scriptures explain how our actions towards God and all living beings should be completely devoid of selfish intent. By offering our lives in service, unmotivated and uninterrupted, we experience profound satisfaction and fulfillment which otherwise remains elusive. While this may be hard to conceptualise, the living example of magnanimous mothers gives us an insight into what selflessness really is. Swami Prabhupada explained how the love between mother and child is the purest form of love found in this world. How wonderful if we could take some moments to remember this, foster a mood of gratitude, and share that selfless spirit with the entire world.
Disclaimer: I am sure many fathers also fit the above descriptions 🙂
On behalf of the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, I would like to share with you the new video we made about the Kartika Month and the Importance of the Damodara Program. It was filmed here in Mayapur and we have some members of our youth participating in the video. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knTzt3_ZVY4 We hope […]
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Mangal Artik – ISKCON MAYAPUR – Chandrodaya Mandir
“We have no idea what we are dealing with. We are dealing with pure nectar. We have to drink that nectar. Sometimes even by force. Because of the disease of jaundice — ignorance — nectar tastes like poison in the beginning. But really appreciate the facility you have and take advantage of it. Somehow use every moment […]
Light your homes and every hearts with the mercy of Lord Damodar during Kartik Month(19 Oct – 17 Nov 2013.
I was able to appreciate something very, very beautiful in Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākur’s commentary on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.7.47. The …
Be Smart
Brampton, Ontario
Saturday night overlapped into Sunday morning if you were present at Nuit Blanche held at Queens Park in Toronto. Nuit Blanche is an all night outdoor setting of eye popping sensation grabbing hands on art displays.
Our group of chanters found our chosen spot on the grass where we plopped ourselves on to carpets for our own version of art through sound. Once we kick started with Dhira leading the chant, people out there started to get on fire so to speak. It’s like the magic at New Years Eve. People are in a party mood, a little tipsy from a substance, out to impress; above all, trying to reflect the nature of the soul seeking happiness.
The dancing began under the moonlight which was over the clouds that were threatening to burst. The fun went on. The crowds eventually thinned out and our group moved on, except for me, who decided to walk it back to the ashram, mainly to bring 15 year old Aravind, one of our drummers, to his hotel. The rains came. Once again, I’m grateful to have had the Irish trekking experience, a water experience. It made me resilient to downpours. My arrival time at the ashram was 4 AM, the time to normally get up for sadhana, spiritual work out. I went to sleep.
It was a long birthday.
Up I got and in time for a ride to Brampton and a talk to the community there from a verse out of the Gita, 3.20:
“Just for the sake of educating the people in general, you should perform your work.”
I find that supremely interesting. What Krishna appears to be saying is that merely by doing your dharma, duty, you inspire others. It’s all quite subtle, simply doing as we’re obliged sets the right tone for others.
I gave a second talk in Toronto and spoke about the varying energies or emissions of the Divine. People like to hear about the internal energies and how they are full of life. The external energies, although giving a buzz initially, always end in a sad scenario. So take your pick on the choice of influence and hopefully you will be smart.
5 KM
Many people reject discipline: “I want to be free to do my own thing.” Our aspiration to be free is natural and laudable. But we need to consider: is my own thing actually my own thing? What we call ‘my own thing’ usually comes not from us, but from the world. The current materialistic culture […]
Echoes of Peace is a festival that has been held for eleven years in one of the main parks of Denpasar. Each year, leaders from spiritual groups in Bali come together and show cooperation under the banner of the Hindu … Continue reading →
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Radhastami) In Vrndavan, in one of the forests which is known as Kamyavana, there is place called Mohini-kund. Once in this place, a particular pastime took place. Srimati Radharani mentioned that she had heard many Bhagavatam lectures speaking about the super-excellent beauty of Mohini-murti, that particular […]
“Chanting japa is my solemn duty. Even if you get up late, you have to chant your Japa, gradually catching up with the quota. Don’t be sloppy because it’s late. Slow down and be patient and execute the yajna with a sane mind. Repeat the syllables patie…
Kalachandji’s Sunday school has been active since 2007. We have 30-40 children attending Sunday school regularly now. We have two Sunday school sessions. Each session includes 20 Sunday classes, one field trip, one festival, and two performances at the temple. Our Sunday school group is divided […]
This month, we would like to recognize His Grace Dwaraka Prabhu and Her Grace Chitra Mataji as our Donor Spotlight. If you come to the temple every Sunday, you will see Chitra Mataji’s smiling face greet […]
Aww, look at those cute babies! Wait, not the students, their pictures. These are some of this year’s Kinder and 1st grade students. Definitely not babies anymore, are they? This lesson, “All About Me,” fits […]
Sometimes one is praised and sometimes one is defamed; that is the nature of human society. But a devotee is always transcendental to artificial fame and infamy, distress or happiness. Bhagavad Gita As It Is 12.18.19 purport