Monthly Archives: October 2013

Harinama in Union Square – inspiring descriptions of souls getting its benefit by Krishna-kripa Das
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When I joined Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party in Union Square for a few days last April, the devotees would chant 4 hours a day and 6 hours on Saturday. Now they chant 6 hours a day and 12 hours on Saturday! That is an increase from 30 to 48 hours per week! Read more ›

Travel Journal#9.19: New York City Harinamas
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 19
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2013, part one)
New York City
(Sent from New York City on October 22, 2013)
Where I Went and What I Did
Niranjana Swami encouraged me to support Rama Raya Prabhu’s program of chanting for hours each day in New York’s Union Square, and so I decided to do it for two months this year, October and November. Devotees chant on the southwest corner of Union Square, right in front of the subway entrance, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day, except Saturday when they try to begin at 10 a.m. and continue to 10 p.m.! On weekend evenings sometimes we would also have a walking chanting party in Times Square beginning at 8:30 p.m. Once we visited Tompkins Square Park. Also during the beginning of October, Karen, my sister, visited New York City for four days for a seminar, and I arranged she have three Krishna prasadam lunches.
The insights section includes quotes from my reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books and hearing his lectures, from reading Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s blog, and from hearing a recorded lecture by Niranjana Swami.
Harinama in Union Square
When I joined Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party in Union Square for a few days last April, the devotees would chant 4 hours a day and 6 hours on Saturday. Now they chant 6 hours a day and 12 hours on Saturday! That is an increase from 30 to 48 hours per week!
When we start at 2:00 p.m. we may have only 4 or 5 people chanting, playing the instruments, or dancing, but by 6:00 p.m. or so, we often have 20. 


On three occasions over the last two weeks I counted over 27 people altogether.


Sometimes we attracted quite a crowd.

Perhaps 6 or 7 people in our group do not do any other Hare Krishna practice. They are local people who have just become attached to regularly taking part in the sankirtana in Union Square by playing instruments, clapping, dancing, and/or sometimes chanting.

Sally, the eldest of the regularly attending locals, is 78 years old and still works as a clinical psychologist.

She comes out almost every day and sits in a chair the party has provided for her.

She chants for an hour or so, puts a donation in our box, and goes on her way. I met her in November 2012 when I spent several days on the party. One of those days she spontaneously exclaimed, “This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I moved here over 40 years ago!” During my visit this time she surprised me by coming out twice in the same day. I asked her about it, and she said she likes to come because the chanting has a good effect on her mind. She explained that it has the unusual ability to make you feel both relaxed and energized at the same time. She said when she comes to Union Square to chant with us, if she had problems on her mind, when she leaves, she cannot remember what the problems were. She was thankful about that.

Our chanting party sets up in Union Square directly across East 14thStreet from a shop with a sign “FOREVER 21.”


The shop reminded me of a selection from Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is, verse 4.6, purport, where he describes the transcendental nature of Lord Krishna’s body:
“And although His body does not deteriorate like a material body, it still appears that Lord Krishna grows from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth. But astonishingly enough He never ages beyond youth. At the time of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, He had many grandchildren at home; or, in other words, He had sufficiently aged by material calculations. Still He looked just like a young man twenty or twenty-five years old. We never see a picture of Krishna in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation — past, present, and future.”
In the spiritual world, which anyone can attain by pure chanting of the holy name of the Lord, all the residents have transcendental bodies like Krishna’s which are not subjected to aging, and it was wonderful to be reminded of that truth by seeing the shop sign.
I was discussing about “Forever 21” with our party leader Rama Raya Prabhu, in the presence of my sister, Karen, who was visiting. Having come on one harinama with me briefly in London in May during a stopover on her flight to South Africa, Karen pointed out that the Hare Krishnas also chant outside young adult clothing shops in the UK, a humorous similarity that I would have never noticed!

Our chanting set up includes an altar facing the singers for inspiration.
We have no dress code. Some devotees dress in dhotis and saris. Some were casual clothes. Some coming from or going to work, wear more formal Western clothes.

We bring lots of extra instruments for both the devotees and the onlookers to play.


Children especially like to play instruments.

Sometimes the parents get into it too.

Also the children would sometimes dance.



And adults would clap.



Guys often like to play the djembe, the one-headed African drum.

One guy plays that drum, while his daughter plays the shakers.

Some people bring their own instruments.
One man likes to drum with drum sticks on an inverted bucket.

Some people both play the instruments and dance.
One guy enjoyed dancing with us.

And then sat down to chant with us.

Srila Prabhupada’s books can attract even kids.

Often Lila Padma dd would make great cookies which Candra Mohini dd would distribute.

Sometimes locals would sweep before the party.

One danced and swept at the same time!


A local artist occasionally comes by
and makes a drawing of our party.

One evening on the Union Square harinamaI had a wonderful experience. One couple stood watching us for over an hour, smiling, singing, clapping, dancing, and ultimately playing the shakers. The lady came up to me and asked if I was in Rishikesh in March of 2012. I had been there assisting Navina Nirada Prabhu with “The Bhakti Experience,” a two-week program of gathering each noon with lots of chanting, a little talk about bhakti (the yoga of devotion), and spiritualized vegetarian food. She said that time in Rishikesh was the second time she met the Hare Krishnas, but the nearly two hours of chanting made it especially profound. She showed me the chanting beads she bought from us then and said she chants on them every day. She has been to our temple in her home country of Kazakhstan and has met B. B. Govinda Swami, our leader there. She told me she has a 15-year-old son and wanted to know of an ashram in the west where he could spend the summer doing harinamaevery day. I told her about Rama Raya Prabhu and the program in New York City, and I will tell her about the programs with regular harinamas in Soho, Bhaktivedanta Manor, and Ann Arbor, as well.

The next day she came back to Union Square to talk with Rama Raya and stayed to chant for a few minutes before her flight home, playing the personal set of karatalas she was traveling with. We always wonder about the effect of our outreach programs, especially when we and those attending them are from different countries and may never meet again, and so it was very inspiring for me to hear her story.
Another day at Union Square, an older man who was photographing the harinamaparty told me that he used to sing with the Hare Krishnas and the Swami in Tompkins Square Park. He said later he did a photo article on Prabhupada’s Palace for Lifemagazine.

Sara was wandering around New York City in a depressed state of mind, until she encountered the Harinama NYCchanting party in Union Square, and then her fortune changed. She was amazed to see so many happy people. She listened for several minutes, got a pamphlet “On Chanting Hare Krishna,” talked for quite a while with Rama Raya Prabhuand a another devotee, who liberally gave her a Gitaalthough she did not have the money. She was very grateful.

She told me her birthday was coming up on Wednesday, and she did not have any friends in New York City to celebrate it with. I invited her to celebrate it with us as we would be singing here at Union Square from 2 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, and I said I would try to bring her a special sweet. She liked the idea and said she would come. Satya dd, wife of Ramabhadra Prabhu, temple president in Brooklyn, kindly donated a Hare Krishna T-shirt and a couple cupcakes as a gift, and I obtained some Radha-Govinda maha-sweets, but unfortunately Sara did not remember her plan to return to see the devotees at Union Square on her birthday. We keep the T-shirt with us, for her next appearance.
Michael Collins from Gainesville is one of my favorite singers.

He played in a band and is really talented, and he just puts a lot of energy into the kirtana. He chooses lively tunes that are easy to sing, and the passersby are often attracted as you can see in these video clips (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLr23RqjCzrPXxcGe18SbR8):


A couple groups of friends all decided to dance with us, and Candra Mohini dd was their leader with Phalguni Radhika dd helping out later. You can see how happy they were.


Here is some video of it (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xKmoh9hN8UzWNXBHmFnkT97):

Did you ever see a man with angel wings

dancing on harinama?


How about a guy in purple underwear?

What about a girl playing kalatalas

and eating an ice cream cone?


How about seeing all this in the same day?

That is Union Square!

When Rama Raya Prabhu was leading the chanting, the man with angel wings danced with the guy in purple underwear as you can see in this video (http://youtu.be/6vcoVRR2ltM):

One day when I was singing, Candra Mohini dd invited two girls to sit on the blanket next to her. She taught them to chant which they did for twenty minutes, and then they began to dance. After I finished I thanked them for dancing, and asked them about their experience with Hare Krishna. They said they had seen the chanting in Union Square many times but had never stopped before. That was the first time. They mentioned they were now thinking of going to the Sunday program at the Bhakti Center. They asked if there was early morning chanting in the park. I told them the Bhakti Center does chanting indoors at 6:30 a.m. The only outdoor morning chanting I know of is in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, near the pier at 7:00 a.m. on Sundays. They seemed very happy that they stopped and chanted and danced with the Hare Krishnas and got pamphlets and invitations, and I hope they come by again.
Two girls who are in a masters program in media studies had to record sound for a course project. One of the girls was born in Kolkata and attended our largest temple in Delhi, while getting her undergraduate degree there. As she regularly passed by the Union Square harinama, her school being nearby, there was no doubt about what sound she was going to record for her course! In addition to recording ten minutes of chanting with professional equipment, she and her American-looking friend got prasadam cookies, and her friend got the pamphlet “On Chanting Hare Krishna.”
Dustin, a new devotee from Canada, who comes twice a year to New York City to work with the Metropolitan Opera, joined us one day on the Union Square harinama. Although Dustin prefers to listen, considering kirtana to be another style of singing than his own, Rama Raya appreciating his booming, resonant voice, engaged him in leading a Hare Krishna tune, which turned out to be my favorite and I had a great time dancing to it. Many people were attracted to listen to his nice singing.
One girl in purple tights who came by, showing a little interest, explained that her dog was named Krishna.


One morning in our Brooklyn temple, I was surprised to encounter Citraratha dd, a Prabhupada disciple from Geneva, who I had once chanted Hare Krishna with on the Paris metro a few years ago. She is vacationing in New York City, desiring more association with Hare Krishna devotees than she gets in Geneva, where we do not have a temple. I told her about the Union Square harinama party, and she came out that very day. She sang the response and talked to people who appreciated the chanting. One lady she spoke with came from a Muslin background and then married a Christian man. As as result, neither had a spiritual practice for many years, and now they are on a spiritual search. Citraratha, after talking with the lady for several minutes, invited her to a Hare Krishna program in the local area and is hopeful that they will come.
Amazing enough, in the first half of October, we had only one rainy day. Then we chanted in a crowded, but very loud area of the Union Square subway station, just above the downtown 4, 5, and 6 trains.

I share below some more video clips showing the chanting and dancing at Union Square (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xJ4mQKXgH5CZY9jA1DK69JU):

To see the rest of the pictures I took, but which I did not use to illustrate this journal, most of which are of harinama at Union Square, go to this link:

Times Square is so crowded in the evenings it is a great place to share the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra with people. Sunanda Prabhu, and his party from our Krishna Balarama temple in Queens, would join devotees from the Union Square harinama party, and chant from 8:30 p.m. onward.
Sometimes we would chant on the subway to Times Square.


Once Yadubara Prabhu, who produced the Following Prabhupada DVD series, as well as many other video and photographic Hare Krishna projects, came and sang with us at Times Square.

Some young people very much enjoyed clapping, dancing, and playing instruments with us.

Here is a short video clip of it (http://youtu.be/8g1MpbeS7k8):

Once in Times Square, one man exclaimed as the harinamaparty passed, “I thought they were extinct!”
Tompkins Square Park
Deva Madhava Prabhu, who comes from Michigan one week a month to chant in Union Square, describes an amazing experience he had at Tompkins Square Park, also in New York City, where Srila Prabhupada began outdoor chanting with his disciples back in 1966:

“These children are standing around ‘the Hare Krishna Tree’ in Tompkins Square Park in New York City, famous as the place Swami Prabhupada began singing Hare Krishna. Their teacher Deborah asked me, ‘Is their a spirit in this tree?’ While I assured her all tree’s have souls, I did let her known about the saint who had began his teachings their over 40 years before. Deborah has for the last 11 years been bringing her classes to the tree to sing ‘The Tree Song.’ They sing to the tree, hug the tree, draw the tree and even kiss the tree. October 9 is the anniversary of Swami Prabhupada’s first time chanting under the great elm. I could feel him there last Friday when I asked the teacher if the children would like to learn the song the saint sang under the same tree years ago, and as they chanted Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare I remembered a miracle is not seeing that God has done one thing, but realizing that He does everything.”
On October 9, after finishing our chanting at Union Square, the harinama team came to celebrate the 47thanniversary of Srila Prabhupada and his followers first chanting in that park back on that day in 1966. Some of the devotees chanted in a procession there from Union Square.


We chanted as we circumambulated the park’s famous Hare Krishna tree, and then sat down and talked about spreading the chanting of the holy name and Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

My Sister Karen’s Prasadam Lunches
Karen, my sister, is a licensed mental health counselor living in Albany, and occasionally comes to New York City, as she did the second weekend in October, for a four-day seminar on counseling techniques for people working with refugees. The person giving the seminar was from India and incorporated ideas from different traditions in his course, including Ayur Veda and the conception of the subtle body.

Friday I met Karen and brought her salad, bread, koftas, and eggplant parmesan from Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch, the restaurant run by Satya dd in the Radha Govinda temple in Brooklyn.


Saturday I saved some subji, rice, and dal from the temple breakfast for her lunch and she met me at the kirtana party at Union Square.


Sunday we went to the Doughnut Plant, a doughnut shop in Manhattan owned by Mark, a Hare Krishna devotee. Karen bought me a peanut butter and banana cream-filled doughnut as a belated birthday present and had a chocolate cake doughnut for herself. I also gave her some cheese cake that Satya dd gave me and a piece of pera and a tulasi leaf from Radha Govinda. All and all Karen did well taking lots of Krishna prasadam during her trip to New York!
Over meals, when discussing conflicts between those of different faiths, I happened to mention about the three levels of devotees mentioned in our Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition and their different qualities. The neophytes are those who recognize God and the saints only within their tradition but not beyond. The second level can identify God, the saints, the innocent, and the those averse to God by their qualities in whatever tradition or in whatever place they appear. People on this level serve the Lord with love, make friends with those devoted to Him, enlighten those open to spirituality, and avoid those antagonistic to spiritual life. Those on highest level see God in everything and in everyone, and so are very kind to every living being. My sister commented that it seemed practical that those on second level could make the distinctions needed to run the society so those on the highest level could be free to show kindness to everyone. That observation impressed me.

Living in New York City

I live in our Brooklyn temple where I have the incredibly good fortune of seeing Radha Govinda for mangala-arati every day, as well as honoring their maha-prasadam, and doing service for Their restaurant.


They were the first Radha Krishna deities I ever saw, and when I was a new devotee in Their temple on 55th Street, I would transfer Their mangala-arati sweets.

Although not a tourist, I saw the famed Statue of Liberty in the distance, both from the air while arriving in New York and from the subway daily enroute to Union Square from Brooklyn.

Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
from Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 8.310, purport:
“All Vedic literatures declare that transcendental subjects cannot be understood simply by argument or logic. Spiritual matters are far above experimental knowledge. Only by Krishna’s mercy can one who is interested in His transcendental loving affairs understand them. If one tries to understand these transcendental topics simply by using one’s material brain substance, the attempt will be futile. Whether one is a prakrita-sahajiyaor a mundane opportunist or scholar, one’s labor to understand these topics by mundane means will ultimately be frustrated. One therefore has to give up all mundane attempts and try to become a pure devotee of Lord Vishnu. When a devotee follows the regulative principles, the truth of these talks will be revealed to him.”
fromSri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 9.8, purport:
“The holy names of Krishna and Hari, or the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,are so spiritually powerful that even today, as our preachers go to remote parts of the world, people immediately begin chanting Hare Krishna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There cannot be anyone who can compare to Him or His potencies. However, because we are following in His footsteps and are also chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,the effect is almost as potent as during the time of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Our preachers mainly belong to European and American countries, yet by the grace of Lord Caitanya they have tremendous success wherever they go to open branches. Indeed, everywhere people are very seriously chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.14 on August 17, 1972, in Los Angeles:
“Krishna consciousness is so nice even those who are incorrigible can be delivered. This is mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam [2.4.18]:Kirata hunandhra pulinda pulasa.”
“If you say why are you interested to save the human society—that is Krishna’s business. Krishna wants, God wants that all these living entities they should back home back to Godhead. Why are they suffering? Therefore Krishna comes personally. . . . He wants, “Come back home. Dance with Me. Eat with Me.” . . . Because we are Krishna conscious, we are servants of God, therefore, it is our duty to save this civilization.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.29, purport:
“Those who are not narayana-para,pure devotees, must be disturbed by this duality of the material world, whereas devotees who are simply attached to the service of the Lord are not at all disturbed by it. For example, Haridasa Thakura was beaten with cane in twenty-two bazaars, but he was never disturbed; instead, he smilingly tolerated the beating. Despite the disturbing dualities of the material world, devotees are not disturbed at all. Because they fix their minds on the lotus feet of the Lord and concentrate on the holy name of the Lord, they do not feel the so-called pains and pleasures caused by the dualities of this material world.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.31, purport:
“One who engages in unalloyed devotional service to Vasudeva, Krishna, automatically becomes aware of this material world, and therefore he is naturally detached. This detachment is possible because of his high standard of knowledge. The speculative philosopher tries to understand that this material world is false by cultivating knowledge, but this understanding is automatically manifested in the person of a devotee, without separate endeavor.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
Sri Radha-rasa-suddha-nidhi (The Book of Radha) by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja translated by Dasaratha Suta Prabhu
“(257) A Prayer to Sri Govinda for Bestowing Maidservice to Sri Radha
O Sri Govinda!
That crown jewel among all Vraja gopis
Her lotus feet’s sheer splendor and majesty
is supremely dear to You
even greater than millions upon millions of hearts
—Please accept me in Her maidservice
full of the most unique fresh new rasa—
Again and again—every moment, O Lord of lords!
I beg this of You with all my heart and soul!”
“(259) Krishna-bhajana as a Feature of Radha-dasya
Constantly meditating
on He who wears the peacock-feather crown
incessantly singing
His nama-sankirtana [congregational chanting of His name]
worshipfully serving
His lotus feet
chanting quietly
His best of mantras . . .
holding in my heart only the supremely cherished
eternal service to the lotus feet of Sri Radha.
When, O when, by His grace
will I become a participant
in Their extremely astonishing festival of divine love?”
from “Poem for October 3 [2013]”in Viraha Bhavan:

“Today’s drawing shows four bhaktas dancing and chanting

with upraised arms.
Where are they located?
Are they with Rama-raya’s harinama party in Union Square?
Are they at the campus of
the University of Florida in Gainesville?
Are they in some remote
countryside with no one in sight?
Use your imagination
and place them where you will.
It’s bound to be auspicious
wherever Hare Krishna is sung.”
[This poem was striking to me because I chanted at the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville in September, and I chanted with Rama-raya’s harinama party in Union Square in October, and my diksa-guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, mentioned both places in this poem!]
Niranjana Swami:
Visvanatha Cakravati Thakura says that Krishna does not consider maintaining a devotee who is fully dependent on Him to be a burden just as a family man does not consider taking care of his family a burden or a man does not consider carrying his lover a burden.
In his copy of Bhagavad-gita, Arjunacarya changedthe wordvahami to the word karomi in verse 9.22, because he did not think that Krishna personally provides for His devotee.
—–
krsir bhu-vacakah sabdo
naś ca nirvriti-vacakaḥ
tayor aikyaḿ paraḿ brahma
krishna ity abhidhiyate

“The word ‘krish’ is the attractive feature of the Lord’s existence, and ‘na’means spiritual pleasure. When the verb ‘krish’is added to the affix ‘na,’it becomes ‘Krishna,’ which indicates the Absolute Truth.” (Mahabharata,Udyoga-parva 71.4, quoted in Śri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 9.30)

GBC Strategic Planning Meetings October 14-18, 2013 (Album 40 photos)
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The GBC body is thinking and acting more globally with a greater commitment to openness and transparency. One example of this is the GBC’s engagement of over one hundred talented devotees (known as the strategic planning network) who work in committees to support the GBC’s strategic planning initiatives Read more ›

A visit to trancendental Vrindavan’s local temples (Album 160 photos)
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The essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Lord Sri Krishna’s transcendent pastimes. Lord Chaitanya wandered through the different sacred forests of Vrindavana in a spiritual trance of divine love. By His divine spiritual power, He was able locate all the important places of Lord Krishna’s pastimes in and around Vrindavana Read more ›

13 Vyasa Puja Offering from Krsnendu dasa
→ Successful Vaisnavas – Personal Development for Hare Krishnas

In this episode I share my Vyasa puja offerings to Srila Prabhupada from 2012 and from 2013. I thought you might find it interesting to compare them and note the progress. I picked up a few themes as I listened again. What did you pick up? What has changed since 2012? What has stayed the […]

The post 13 Vyasa Puja Offering from Krsnendu dasa appeared first on Successful Vaisnavas – Personal Development for Hare Krishnas.

13 Vyasa Puja Offering from Krsnendu dasa
→ Successful Vaisnavas

In this episode I share my Vyasa puja offerings to Srila Prabhupada from 2012 and from 2013. I thought you might find it interesting to compare them and note the progress. I picked up a few themes as I listened again. What did you pick up? What has changed since 2012? What has stayed the […]

Hungry to Understand Mayapur?
→ Devamrita Swami's Facebook notes

Taking the plane, car, or train to the land of Lord Chaitanya? Let’s get into the spiritual technology. Don’t worry—it’s not too complex. 

Our great predecessor-acharya Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur explained that as a result of spiritual advancement, the all-spiritual realm of Navadvipa-dhama, including Mayapur, can appear to us via three avenues: dreams, meditation, and naked eyesight.

You see, the entirety of Gaura-mandala, the apparently geophysical area surrounding Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes, is cent percent spiritual. Even the water, the land, the trees defy material categorisation. 

We all know that unqualified eyes see just ordinary aspects of material nature. Nevertheless, the elements composing Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai’s essentially nonmaterial area are eternity, complete knowledge, and ever-escalating bliss. 

Spiritual scientists know that these three spiritual ingredients are the gifts of Krishna’s internal potency, swarupa-shakti. This internal energy manifests in three divisions, always present. One of those three “departments” is the “eternal-existence potency,” sandhini-shakti, which attains its “peak performance” by manifesting the eternal dhama, the nonmaterial neighbourhood or spiritual base supporting and facilitating the supreme pastimes.

Materialists suffer from overconfidence in the power and scope of their tiny intelligence. Gunned down by ignorance and illusion, they observe in Mayapur, Navadvipa-dhama, and the Gaura-mandala only the activities of material nature. 

A common example our acharyas give us is the sun. Have the clouds truly covered the sun itself or have they simply covered only our vision? Blinded by the fog of Krishna’s illusory, external potency, the bewildered conditioned soul sees the Gaura-mandala, the entire pastime-arena of Lord Chaitanya, as just routine geography, the usual product of material nature.

How to break out of this trap? Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur reminds us that the master of the department eternally manifesting and supporting the dhama, the boss of that sandhini-shakti, is Lord Nityananda Himself. Get His mercy and ye shall indeed see—the full spiritual reality of Mayapur, Navadvipa-dhama, and the Gaura-mandala.

Banana Festival Fun in the streets of Murwillumbah
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New Govardhana devotees once again took to the streets of Murwillumbah to participate in this year’s Banana Festival Read more ›

Mukunda Goswami: Cow Hugging, a New Remedy
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A small farm in the Netherlands has started a new program for people seeking to reduce their stress levels. No, it’s not meditation, the psychologist’s couch or a deep tissue massage – it’s cow hugging Read more ›

A Pilgrim’s Story of New Vrindaban and “the real deal”
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Read this inspiring story about two people’s  recent visit to New Vrindaban: “My fiance and I are working on a travel blog as we journey across the US. One of the places we stopped was New Vrindaban. We just posted about our incredible time there in my blog. The story is called “My Sweet Lord: […]

Harinama in a wintery Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia (Album 53 photos)
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With free Wi-fi, contemporary public art projects, design fairs and a new cafe policy, Gorky Park is one of the most popular places in Moscow. What could be a better place for the devotees to stage a congregational glorification of Lord Shri Krishna! Read more ›

Parikrama to the most beautiful and mystical place in Sri Vrindavan Dhama (Album 180 photos)
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Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday, by the Lord’s grace, we walked the sacred grounds from Yavat to Ter Kadamba and on to Asesavan. It’s one of the most beautiful and mystical journey’s through Sri Vrindavan Dhama Read more ›

UK Iskcon’s Ahimsa Dairy Foundation
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The Ahimsa Dairy Foundation is a non-profit organisation that produces and delivers entirely slaughter-free and organic milk to the London and Home Counties. Cows are retired when they are too old to give milk and male calves are spared from being killed as most are in a conventional dairy. We treat all of our animals with dignity until the end of their lives. Read more ›

New Section of Mayapur.tv: Events Site – www.mayapur.tv/events
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Antardwip das: View the cool camerawork and editing and the great Bhajans and Kirtans of Polish Woodstock – also the complete three days of the recent HH Jayapataka Swami European Retreat.
All in one place. All with the original tweets. All just for you! Read more ›

HH Kadamba Kanana Swami at the Melbourne Botanical Gardens
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HH Kadamba Kanana Swami at the Melbourne Botanical Gardens

The Culture of Srimad Bhagavatam
→ HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami

13-10-2013 SB 1.2.5 The Culture of Srimad Bhagavatam, Sundarananda Prabhu’s Home, Pretoria.mp3

Sacred Ground
→ travelingmonk.com

Yesterday, by the Lord’s grace, we walked the sacred grounds from Yavat to Ter Kadamba and on to Asesavan. It’s one of the most beautiful and mystical journey’s through Sr Vrindavan Dhama.

336. The map and the journey
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

Came across this short video of a man in Australia who tracked his mother back in India after he lost his real family after having fallen asleep as a small boy in a train. While watching the video, these thoughts flashed across my mind: 1. One has to be prepared to put in their heart […]

335. Google executive Ray Kurzweil’s plan to live forever | News.com.au
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

Google executive Ray Kurzweil’s plan to live forever | News.com.au. Came across this article on a news website where a top exec and the head of his company’s engineering division is planning to live forever by relying on 150 vitamins/day, regular body check-ups and reliance on future scientific developments. He seems convinced about his planning. […]

The Auspicious Month of Damodara (Kartik)
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Blog!

The lunar month known as Damodara/Kartik falls between October 19th and November 17th. This month is celebrated as an opportunity to dive deeper in our spirituality. This month is described as especially dear to Krishna and sincere spiritualists keep it sacred through acts of devotion and vows of austerity aimed at increasing their spiritual strength and allowing them to draw closer to Krishna.

It was during Kartik that Lord Krishna allowed Himself to be bound with ropes by His mother, Yashoda. Out of loving anger at her transcendentally naughty child, she tied him (dama) around the abdomen (udara) with ropes. Thus the month of Kartik is also known as the month of Damodara, “He who was bound around the abdomen”.

Several festivals also fall within this auspicious month including Diwali on November 3rd and Govardhan Puja on November 4th. Please stay tuned to www.torontokrishna.com for more information about Kartik celebrations at Toronto’s Hare Krishna Temple!

Additionally, Kartik is observed by offering lamps and chanting a special prayer to Lord Damodara known as the  Damodarastakam (Click HERE). The Padma Purana, an ancient text, assures:

“Even a person addicted to all sins and averse to all pious deeds who somehow offers a lamp during Kartik becomes purified. Of this there is no doubt.”
During the month of Kartik, every day at 7am and 8pm at ISKCON Toronto we will offer ghee lamps and chant the Damodarastakam prayers *no lamp offerings on Sunday evenings.

As a special initiative for this holy month of Damodara, devotees from ISKCON Toronto will host Damodara Programs in the homes of our congregation members to spread the glories of the Lord. Please contact Program Coordinator, Satyabhama devi dasi for more information or to book a program.

This special month also presents several sponsorship Opportunities:

Diwali – Sunday, November 3rd
Deity Garlands: $351
Govardhan Puja – Monday, November 4th
Deity Garlands: $351

Kartik Deepa Dana

“If somebody burns a lamp in the temple of Lord Shri Hari even for a short time (in the month of Kartik), then whatever sins, he has acquired for millions of  kalpas (one kalpa equals 1000 yugas) are all destroyed.”

Sponsor Daily Lamp Offerings to Lord Damodara $51
Diwali Deepa Dana $108

Please contact Satyabhama devi dasi for sponsorship enquiries.

Happy Kartik!

When Krsna smiles
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Initiation Lecture) In the Caitanya Caritamrta, it is stated that if one commits the ten offences then one is delaying the result of the holy name or delays serving the holy name and ISKCON is a movement dedicated to serving the holy name. The chanting of […]

The Lake Of The Mind
→ Japa Group

“During the japa session, as the mind howls, don’t give up the chanting. However bad the mind’s demands, don’t give in; let’s keep chanting till we complete our daily quota. The lake of the mind will eventually settle down. But be rest assured, tomorro…

The Kirtan Killer
→ simple thoughts

Well I guess it’s nice to be noticed, we all want to be noticed right? We want our fame and glory to be spread amongst the three worlds for all to hear right? Sat amongst the amazing devotees I was faced with what deep down I already knew, no not fame or glory but infamy: […]

SB 11.23.44 – Chanting provides the opportunity to stop embracing the mind and start embracing Krishna
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Holy Name Meditation Podcast 

The asrama of Subhari Muni, hidden deep in the Vrindavan forest! (Album 53 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we visited the asrama of Subhari Muni, which is hidden deep in the Vrindavan forest, next to the Yamuna river. Devotees relished bhajans with Bada Haridas and an instructive talk on Subhari Muni’s pastimes. All glories to Sri Vrindavan dhama! Read more ›

Sunday’s festival. October 20, 2013, New Navadvipa Mandir, Iskcon Kiev, the capital and the largest city of Ukraine (Album 25 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Kiev congregation of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness – the largest community of followers of Hare Krishna in Ukraine. Due to the active and coordinated activities of the community in Kiev was built and is currently expanding the greatest temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in the post-Soviet countries are constantly being published regularly print – newspaper “House of Prabhupada” , operates the largest branch of the charity ‘Food for Life “in Ukraine , and everyone can go to study Vedic Sciences in Kiev Theological Academy of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Read more ›

Iskcon UK’s International charity: The Lotus Trust
→ Dandavats.com

The Lotus Trust was established in 2005 as an International charity working in the UK and overseas to alleviate poverty and distress. It is an educational, relief and development agency seeking to transform lives and improve the environment both in the UK and overseas. Read more ›

Saturday, October 19th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Saturday Night Sounds Juhu Beach, India What does Juhu Beach look like on Saturday night?  It’s pretty much what you’d expect.  In the commerce and residential areas it is busy with crazy traffic and people milling ab…

Pickin’ Potatoes in New Vrindaban
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Pickin’ Potatoes in New Vrindaban – A Picture Tells a Thousand Words      

Bn. Hilda asks whether devotees can accept blood transfusions
→ SivaramaSwami.com

Preetam whether he can neuter his cat and Ananta Purusottama how to overcome the bad habit of complacency.

Protest against ISKCON Moscow prayer site demolition in Kolkata
→ Dandavats.com

Coinciding with Indian Prime Minister Manhoman Singh’s three-day Russia visit, over a hundred followers from different Hindu organisations here staged a protest against the demolition of a site where devotees of ISKCON used to offer prayers in Moscow. Read more ›

Mumbai Meeting
→ Ramai Swami

  Tamohara Prabhu, the current GBC Chairman, who holds a PhD in psychology,  inaugurated the GBC strategic planning meeting at Radha Rasabihari temple in Juhu Beach Mumbai. Other than the GBC members, there were 60  leading devotees from all over … Continue reading →