Monthly Archives: July 2015

Questions and answers. (English/Turkish)
The post Istanbul istagosti with devotees (Part 1) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Harvard professor Clay Christensen on Religious Freedom.

The post Daily Darshan – July 13th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at ISKCON Mayapur on 2015-07-05, Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 06.11.19

“Yoga is about the development from the physical to the spiritual. Let us say I have started with the spiritual,” Putin said at a news conference.

Recently, devotees of Vrindavan started a petition asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to control the town’s “modernization”, as they think it is neither suitable to the holy place, nor sustainable. According to many in…

Hare Krishna! Baroda temple forms Committee to steer 50th Anniversary celebrations
Speaking after a meeting of the Committee on 21st June, Chairman, Pushta Krishna Das said, “The 50th Anniversary is an important milestone to celebrate our achievements. As the leaders of the temple are busy organising regular preaching programmes, the congregation devotees have stepped forward to form a Committee that can plan the celebrations through the year. We will involve local devotees to organise a series of exceptional offerings for Srila Prabhupada so that people in Baroda can be educated about what ISKCON has achieved in the last 50 years.”
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Basughosh Das, President of the Baroda temple said, “We want to encourage the congregation to take an increasing part in the 50th Anniversary celebrations. While the temple management is very involved in guiding and providing suppo…

Wednesday, June 24th, 2015
Halifax, Nova Scotia

At Blue Apple

It is only my speculation that the Mainland Linear Trail, as it is referred to, was either a former railway line or a hydro service road.  Whatever it is, it is a convenient path taken advantage of by hundreds of walkers in this peripheral area of Halifax – Fairview.  Both Brhat and I were quite amazed by the amount of strong scented roses, of all things, lined along the way.  That fragrance is not man-made.

It was Theresa, our host in Halifax, who led us to this trail where we met hundreds of trekkers including a group of Bhutanese, all rather committed members, at least in spirit, to the Vaishnava culture, as we are.

It was Joseph Currie (I like to use his last name as a reminder of the Indian prep) who took us to the Blue Apple Wellness Centre downtown. There, an eager group of youthful open-hearts sat in anticipation of hearing about pilgrimage and the life of a monastic.  No doubt, mantra meditation was also a draw.  Joseph himself is not only a fairly good networker, but is a vocalist, guitarist and an activist.  I asked him to take the lead in the end of our chanting session.  Krishna has provided him with a number of gifts and talents.  Isn’t that true for each and every one of us.

May the Source be with you.

7 km

“Don’t be tempted to add anything to this task. Keep it simple. Don’t even attempt to hear only one mantra at a time, this will push the mind to think of the future, demanding to know we plan to hold it captive. Keep the mind’s task simple and gradually the mind will act simply.”

From Japa: Nine Keys from the Siksastakam to Improve Your Japa
by Bhurijana dasa

The kirtans were very sweet and prayerful, beautiful melodies drawing everyone to Krsna. My own kirtan got everyone dancing. It was fun! This picture of Krsna, full of love for this calf, was in my room. It made a perfect backdrop for Giriraja. Govardhana literally means one who increases the number of cows. Yes, we need […]

“Why did I, the most unfortunate fallen soul, not take birth at the time when Sri Gaurachandra inundated the entire world, including the highest mountains, with the flood of love of God? Therefore I was unable to relish those waves of love of God! “Why did I not take birth at that time to serve […]

Belarus ISKCON Devotees Detained for Offering Religious Literature (3 min video)
By: Olga Glace Forum18.org on July 6, 2015
Three Hare Krishna devotees, Aleksandr Grankin, Aleksei Vlasyuk and Pavel Ivanov, were detained in the streets of Vitebsk on 17 … Read more ›

Harinama in Tel-Aviv, Israel (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age human beings only live for sixty or eighty years, and even this small life-span is gradually decreasing. Therefore it is even more imperative for human beings to take to the… Read more ›

HH Bhakti Charu Swami retreat @ New Vrindaban (Album with photos)
It is our pleasure to share with you that ISKCON New Vrindaban, West Verginia organized a Srimad Bhagavatam retreat with a heading “Stories from Srimad Bhagavatam” which was held from July 1 to July 5. The very retreat imparted a rare opportunity to relish ambrosial narration of Srimad Bhagavatam from the lotus mouth of HH Bhakti Charu Swami in the serene atmosphere of New Vrindaban. The retreat began every morning at 8am with Srimad Bhagavatam class and went till 9am as it’s first session. Then in next session was offered from 11am to 1pm consisting of one hour discourse and one hour of question & answer which leaded in the the final session of the day from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. The Jagannatha Snana Yatra festival on 4th July in the morning 10am to 11am, added another divine dimension to this wonderful retreat. To add more colour to this retreat, New Vrindaban temple organized a Swan- boat festival in the Kusuma Sarovara which was followed by a thrilling & spectacular fire work display at night. An Initiation ceremony presided by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on 5th of July morning from 10am to 11 am, complimented the retreat to embellish it further. Devotees from different parts of USA enjoyed this very retreat with their spontaneous participations in Managala-Arati, Go Puja, and Goverdhana Parikrama every day without fail. It is said in the Bhagavad Gita that every spiritual festival reaches it’s completion in prasadam (sanctified spiritual food). Following this instruction New Vrindavana Temple offered sumptuous prasadam three times a day to every one’s heart’s content. We thank every one, who took part in this magnificent retreat, from the core of our heart. We feel honoured to serve Srila Prabhupada’s family and look forward to have another opportunity to serve all of you in New Vrindaban Temple in coming future. Hare Krishna .
See them here: https://goo.gl/Kqiq09

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Hare Krishna! Treating Women as Mothers
In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditio… Read more ›

Hare Krishna! TOVP Tour Daily Diary: Day 103-108, Four Days in Houston, Texas and The Grand Finale – Seattle, Washington
July 4th and 5th, were the last two days of the North American TOVP Tour, 2015. They were, in fact, record days for our fundraising and visits to devotees homes. During these two days Jananivas prabhu alone visited over 25 devotees’ homes, going from one to the other with the Padukas and Sitari, bringing the blessings of Sri Mayapur Dhama. The crowd of 300+ devotees rose to the occasion, being encouraged to top the charts in pledges. By the end of the program more than $1.2 million was pledged and more expected to come from devotees not present. Even the children from the CHAD Group (Chapter A Day) came forward and combinedly pledged a Silver Gratitude Coin for $11,000. A fitting way to end the TOVP Tour in North America.
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Gopala Raya about the meaning of SPOG, Jeny doing Prabhupada smaranam and Marcel about dark matter.
The post Alexey asks about same sex marriage appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Ratha yatra Stockholm 2015 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sadhu-sanga, or association with a devotee, means always engaging in Krishna consciousness by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and by acting for Krishna. Specifically, chanting the Hare K… Read more ›

ISKCON Auckland New Zealand: Festival of the Holy Name (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna maha-mantra gives liberation and at the same time offers shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna. If one takes shelter at the lotus feet of Krish… Read more ›

Rathayatra de Montrèal Le Festival Hare Krishna 2015 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age of Kali, if a person does not take advantage of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, which is offered as a great concession to the fallen human beings of this age, it is to be understood that he is very much bewildered by the illusory energy of the Lord. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.14 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/nS6an2

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Rare photo of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Read more ›

Maha Saturday Harinama at Union Square Park, New York (Album with 40 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If the surface of the globe is overflooded with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, the people of the world will be very, very happy. (Srimad-Bhagavatam… Read more ›

Hare Krishna! Contemporary Theological Trends In The Hare Krsna Movement: A Theology of Religions
An examination of scholarly work by non-devotees on the Hare Krsna Movement reveals a tendency to engage in sociological and historical analysis rather than a discussion of the philosophy and theology of Krsna Consciousness (for example, Brooks, Bromley and Shinn, Shinn, Rochford, Knott). One explanation for this might be that devotees themselves, particularly the founder, Bhaktivedanta Swami, have provided their own theological accounts. In addition, non-devotee scholars, such as A. L. Basham, John Stratton Hawley and David Kinsley, in recorded conversations with members, have commented on their understanding of the Movement’s philosophy and its location in the Indian Vaishnava tradition (Gelberg, Rosen). These various types of writing constitute the body of scholarship on the Hare Krsna Movement (ISKCON). There is an absence of reflection by outsiders on its current theological interpretations.
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Hare Krishna! Sri Gundicha Marjana
Many of the waterpots were broken when people collided with one another, and hundreds of men had to bring new waterpots to fill. Some people were filling the pots, and others were washing the rooms, but everyone was engaged in chanting the holy name of Krishna and Hari. One person begged for a waterpot by chanting the holy names “Krishna, Krishna,” and another delivered a pot while chanting “Krishna, Krishna.” Whenever anyone had to speak, he did so by uttering the holy name of Krishna. Consequently, the holy name of Krishna became an indication for everyone who wanted something.
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Hare Krishna! A Prayer to Jagannath’s Cart Wheel
The following verse is composed in the style known as citra-kavya, which literally means, “picture-poem”. In this gender of Sanskrit poetry, which goes back at least 2,000 years, the verses are designed to be read in the form of a picture. When the reader lays out the syllables or sometimes words, in the shape of the given picture, hidden meanings are found. Those who have some expertise in Sanskrit may find some surprises in the below contemporary verse, not all of which are to be found in the translation. Perhaps the most famous example of this style of poetry is Srila Rupa Goswamis Citra-kavitvani from his book Stava-mala.
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Today, on the holy Parama Ekadasi day, in the sacred Purusottama month, I fulfilled the Vedic injunction to take bath by sprinkling water from the Pacific Ocean in Carpinteria on my head, remembering Srila Prabhupada at Juhu Beach during Purusottama-adhika-masa. As described by Dr. C. P. Patel in a Back to Godhead magazine article: “I […]

And of course, it happened on Facebook. I posted: “Less intelligent” is an easily misinterpreted phrase. If women are “less intelligent” then man in the way we usually think of the English word “intelligent” – why is Devahūti the 1st ācārya of the extremely philosophical saṁkhya darśan of Kapila? Why is the Vedic personification of […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.14. “Even after liberation the disciple depends on the instructions of the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada gives the example of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who said to His spiritual master, Srila Isvara Puri. ‘I have been following your instruction to chant the holy names but I have become overwhelmed by different […]

By our material calculation we see a difference between the name and the substance, but in the spiritual world the Absolute is always absolute; the name, form, quality and pastimes of the Absolute are all as good as the Absolute Himself.Caitanya Carita…

The storm in Pobierowo the day before had stolen our usual crowd. Only a few hundred people had showed up for the festival. But yesterday the prayers of the devotees kept the dark clouds above from unleashing their torrents of rain and thousands of peo…

One hundred kilometers from our festival in Pobierowo a storm had torn roofs off of houses, knocked down trees and utility poles and left a trail of destruction. Somewhat weakened by the time it reached us, it nevertheless caused serious problems. Two …

Hare Krishna! Just-Installed New Vrindaban Playground “An Investment In Our Families”
The new playground includes a rock climbing wall with a rope, two standard swings, two baby swings, a tire swing, trapeze bars, a slide, and a bridge that connects two towers. It also includes items donated by Malati – a seesaw, and three benches so that parents can sit comfortably right in the playground to watch their children. “We’re trying to cultivate a culture of parents and caregivers staying with their children at all times,” says Ananga Manjari. All pieces of the play set are made of wood that is vinyl-coated to keep out carpenter bees and eliminate the possibility of splinters. Safety is also ensured by the railings throughout and the eighteen-inch faux rock wall surrounding the playground.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18395

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