Monthly Archives: October 2013

Supporting A Loving Godbrother
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Pundarikaksam das, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada from the USA, is terminally ill in the Bhaktivedanta Hospice in Vrindavan. The doctors have given him 2 months to live. Today our parikrama party visited the hospice to encourage him in his final days. …

Kartik meditations – Part III
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 October 2011, Melbourne, Australia, Home Program) The pastime of binding of Krsna is interesting. We remember that Yasoda was trying to tie up Krsna and each time, the rope was two fingers short. She added more ropes, still two fingers short; more ropes, still two fingers short – no matter how many […]

Japa Must Be An Intense Endeavor
→ Japa Group

“Japa must be an intense endeavor. It is not a laid-back thing. As you chant, you simultaneously brush out the thoughts, like using a hand brush and a dustpan. You keep your mind clean.”From Japa Transformationsby Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

SB 11.23.46 – With mind control everything else is unnecessary; without mind control everything else is useless
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

An avalanche of nectar from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu attracting thousands to chant and dance in ecstasy in Mexico (Album 32 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Our 1st week in Mexico was an avalanche of nectar from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu attracting thousands to chant and dance in ecstasy – also amazingly 3000 books were distributed. Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya! Read more ›

SB 11.07.08 – Disconnection with the supremely meaningful makes us seek meaning in the meaningless
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

SB 11.07.04 – Kaliyuga’s degradation is a part of the Lord’s plan as is redemption through the holy name
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

SB 11.07.02 – The Lord’s mission is to not just set things right here but to show us the right way out of here
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Tips On Writing
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das

Several years back  I was  attracted by this two full page ad in the NYT Book Review section highlighting two pages of a new book’s opening. It was The Man From Beijing, an international mystery thriller. I had thought of opening the Mahabharata like a mystery story.   Those two provocative and well chosen pages were a powerful hook, although it turned out they weren’t  the book’s very opening pages. I got the book and it promised to be a powerhouse, as was the premise of the book, and the flashbacks. But after mid way,  the story began to unravel as the author moved away from the basic premise.

Henning Mankell is one of Sweden’s great writers, so it was alarming to see such a potentially good story fall flat on it’s face. The author tried to take the story where it really didn’t have to go. He lost momentum in the process.  If Mankill couldn’t get a handle on his story, how was I going to do it with the vast Mahabharata. Later, I found the reviewers and readers had a mixed response to his book.  A lot of people still seemed to like the book because it was from Mankill. Unfortunately, I did not have a dedicated following like he did.

For me, however, the lesson was  simple. That is, to stick to the premise of your story. Premise means the purpose, the idea, the essential message or meaning of the story. The basic truth of the story.  The premise should be a compass for the author. It may take a while working with the story to begin to fully define and  understand your premise. It’s easy to start a story. You might have one definite idea or a jumble of ideas and scenes. But in the excitement, you can’t let that jumble carry you away, which it did with The Man From Beijing which got into superfluous passages and scenes.  Once you find it,  keep your eye on  the premise. Don’t lose sight of it.  As a writer, that’s what you have to serve.

For more tips see www.Mahabharata-Project.com  – On Writing
Coming in November – Free Shipping on my book Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest

CARE PERSONIFIED BOOK
→ Gita Coaching

A collection of memories from the disciples and acquaintances of
His Divine Grace
A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Care Personified

Published by The Devotee Care Committee for the GBC of ISKCON.

A11 quotations are from Srila Prabhupada’s …

The Ladies’ Ashram
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The Ladies’ Ashram offers ladies the opportunity to become immersed in Krishna consciousness and to provide training and education so they can develop their sadhana and service and build a spiritual foundation that will sustain them throughout their lives. Read more ›

Gopicandra asks whether souls in santa-rasa fall from Vaikuntha
→ SivaramaSwami.com

Are we responsible for acts performed against our will, and whether demigods tend to vegetable gardens in heaven – and other questions by B. Marcel and Srinivas.

One Woman’s Road to Krishna
→ Dandavats.com

The reason I came back to New Govardhana is that it reminded me strongly of a farm that my church community is running in Eastern Germany. There I was trained how to be a volunteer in pastoral care for kids, leading groups, and so on. This was when I was 14-19 years old and for me these were some of the most significant times of my adolescence – serving, singing, having special conversations and just ‘being’. I had never found a place that felt ‘home’ like this again until I came here. Read more ›

Tsunami of Service and KARTIK nectar! Come drown with us:) (Album 187 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Kārttika could be thought of as the ultimate “buy one, get a-whole-lot-more free” sale, or the equivalent of a “super, multi-triple word score” in the game of Scrabble. For a limited time only, whoever is lucky (or greedy, or intelligent) enough to do some service for Krishna during this special month gets a uniquely huge return on their investment. The ultimate return: one becomes more Krishna conscious. Read more ›

Organised Chaos
→ Tattva - See inside out

When driving in India anything goes. No speed limits, no lane discipline, no right of way… do what you want, just make sure you horn so that everyone’s aware! Once, I witnessed a head-on collision, causing both vehicles serious damage. As the two drivers emerged unscathed, they came face-to-face and began debating whose fault it was. There was loud argument, fiery gesticulation and a crowd of excited onlookers who offered their “two rupees” worth. Within a few minutes, however, they came to some resolution, headed for a tea stall, and sat down together for a good old natter! It was an incredible sight! No animosity, no grudges, no bad feeling. It taught me something about their culture: chaos on the outside, calm on the inside.

Our modern culture is often the complete opposite: orderly on the outside, but chaotic on the inside! We have complex infrastructure, documented rules for everything and refined social niceties that govern day-to-day dealings. External social intercourse may be prim and proper, but many individuals experience huge chaos within. People are often inhibited from revealing their hearts, and instead lock up things within, causing destructive emotions to brew up and eventually surface in unhealthy ways. While modern culture may have succeeded in organising society into a well-oiled machine, there are clear deficiencies in the areas of community, relationships and meaningful human interaction. We’ve learnt how to live a life of organised chaos; bottling everything up, it’s often a case of smiling faces but parched hearts.

A self-development guru once held up a glass of water in front of her audience. While everyone was expecting the usual “half empty half full” exercise, she instead asked them how heavy the cup was. The answers varied from 3 oz to 10 oz. She then explained that the weight and volume of the water is not what makes it heavy – rather it’s the length of time for which we hold it. Similarly, everyone goes through challenges, anger, frustration and unrest in their life (the water in our cup). The problem is when we carry these things and fail to let go. Good social structures allow people to ‘get things off their chest’ and get on with living life. The freedom of expression helps keep things in perspective. We need to free up some internal breathing space, lest we choke our consciousness.

Sravanam Kirtanam In The Heart of Vrindavan (Album 160 photos)
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Indradyumna Swami: Today we visited the temples of Radha Raman, Radha Gokulananda and the sacred samadhi of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The devotees were deeply touched. May our prayers to all the saints and deities be answered, for such prayers were for the welfare of all conditioned souls Read more ›

7th Annual Cow Festival @ New Talavan (Album 87 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Currently New Talavana produces wheat, fruit, and vegetables. We also have about sixty acres set aside for hay and collect hay from another 100 acres not owned by New Talavana. Krishna’s cows also produce fresh milk from which the devotees supply our presiding deities with delightful milk sweets. Read more ›

Kartik meditations – Part II
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 October 2011, Melbourne, Australia, Home Program) In the Bhagavad-gita 10.35, Krsna says that of all the months, “I am marga-sirsa,” which is a name for the November-December period. It is said that before Krsna, first comes Radha – Radha-Krsna, Radha-Syam, Sita-Ram, like that. First the consort of the Lord is mentioned. […]

The Bhaktivedanta Players of Iskcon UK
→ Dandavats.com

The drama troupe aims to entertain, educate and inspire its audiences. It brings scriptures to life and provides a unique service to the community and to the general public Read more ›

Video From New Vrindaban’s 24 Hour Kirtan – June 15th, 2013
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Video from New Vrindaban’s 24 Hour Kirtan – June 15th, 2013. Thanks to Bhakta Vatsala Dasa for posting on Youtube.

Radhadesh, Daily Darshan 22-10-2013 (Album 42 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Radhadesh is a spiritual community based in a 19th century chateau in the Belgian Ardennes. There are presently around eighty people living in the community, which was founded about 1980. In the Château, which has been beautifully renovated by the present inhabitants, you can see a gorgeous temple-room which is unique in Belgium and the Netherlands. Yearly we have about 40.000 visitors. Radhadesh is the main center for ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in the Benelux Read more ›

In The Heart of Vrindavan
→ travelingmonk.com

Today we visited the temples of Radha Raman, Radha Gokulananda and the sacred samadhi of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The devotees were deeply touched. May our prayers to all the saints and deities be answered, for such prayers were for the welfare of a…

HH Kadamba Kanana Swami – Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.36
→ Gouranga TV - The Hare Krishna video collection

HH Kadamba Kanana Swami – Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.36

Monday, October 21st, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

The Jungle and the TempleMahabaleshwar There was a high concentration of saffron at our morning sadhana program.  This simply means that monastic fellows were in good attendance.  The venue was the conference room at Ram Sukh R…

Sunday, October 20th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Horn Not Mahabaleshwar, India From Juhu a bus load of us elders (I guess you could say) journeyed to the Shayadri Mountains, one of three major ranges in India.  We ventured to a secluded place at the summit of a hill station – The Ram S…

The Way The Mind Works
→ Japa Group

Radhanath Swami advises us to ignore the mind while chanting Hare Krishna, lest it deludes us and distracts us from the path of spiritual progress:

“In life, some of the most dangerous enemies cannot be seen, we don’t even know they are there; we may even consider them as our friends. That is the way the mind works.” Radhanatha Swami

337. Our true size
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

As the human ego is on a tragic increase, this video helps us understand our small position in the astronomical world. What does Srila Prabhupad have to say? “Goloka-namni nija-dhamni. There is a planet in the spiritual world. The material world, you can see the material sky, limit of the sky, the horizon, but you […]

Invitation to the Launch of 1Malaysia Deepavali-Damodara at Panggung Anniversary
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY SRI JAGANNATH MANDIR, KL

More photos here

KUALA LUMPUR – ISKCON Malaysia will be celebrating the 1Malaysia Deepavali-Damodara festival at Panggung Anniversary, Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens this Saturday, 26 October from 6pm-9pm. Many exciting cultural programmes and a grand vegetarian dinner awaits you. Entrance is free! Kindly share this message…

The first principle
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Lalita Sasti Lecture) Krsna’s message must be delivered. Prabhupada made it very clear. Prabhupada came to this world as a messenger and dedicated his whole life to being a messenger. He humbly requested us to be messengers so that we would assist him. He alone, of course, […]

SB 11.23.45 – Chanting offers the best opportunity to fulfill the ultimate purpose of all our activities
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Holy Name Meditation Podcast