Monthly Archives: July 2015

Hare Krishna! Where Is Godhead? Is It Possible To See Him?
Srila Prabhupada: In the Secretariat Buildings in New Delhi there is an inscription on the stone that Liberty does not descend upon a people but it has to earned before it can be enjoyed. Actually this is the fact and we have seen it that much sacrifice had to be rendered by the people of India before they could gain Swaraj. But in the matter of Godhead some irresponsible people ask, “Can you show me.” “Have you seen God?” These are some of the questions put forward by some irresponsible men who want to have everything very cheap. If for attaining a temporary false sense of liberty in this material world so much labour and sacrifice have to be requisitioned is it possible to see Godhead — The Absolute Truth so cheaply? To see God means complete liberty from all conditions. But is Godhead an attending orderly so that He may be present at my command?
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18367

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ISKCON Devotees Attend Rome Environmental Convergence.
Young religious environmental leaders from around the world, including four ISKCON devotees, attended an environmental “convergence” and march in Rome at the end of June.
The march culminated in St. Peter’s Square in front of the Vatican, where the Pope’s encyclical is traditionally broadcast from to over 1 billion Catholics across the globe.
“It almost looked like St. Peter’s Square had turned green,” says participant Gopal-Lila Das, who is the Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies’ Bhumi Project. “It was a really beautiful sight.”
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The post Daily Darshan – July 10th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! The History of the Balaram Mridangas
Some time in 1972-73 Srila Prabhupada saw that the East Indians were not carrying on the tradition of making the original mridangas and kartals. The younger generation who would normally take over the arts from their fathers were becoming more and more interested in going to school and going to the cities. They were thinking that working with leather making the drums and such was a lower class of activity. So Srila Prabhupada sent out a letter to all the GBCs indicating that some men should be sent to India to learn these arts. At that time I was in the temple of Jagadisha who was Srila Prabhupada’s Minister of education and a GBC member.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18364

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The lighthouse in Niechorze, Poland on the Baltic Sea guided sailors safely to shore for centuries. Now Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement, in the form of our transcendental festival, is helping people to cross over the vast ocean of material existence. The two days we spent with our program next to the lighthouse attracted thousands and […]

“Krishna dictates everything the guru says. Everything guru says is therefore perfect, we should not interpret it.” Friends, the idea that it’s possible to not interpret the guru is a myth. Subjectivity means seeing something from your own point of view (“interpreting it” according to your own viewpoint). The idea that it’s possible to remain a conscious individual yet […]

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 April 2015, Radhadesh, Belgium, Vyasa Puja Morning Lecture, Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 24.124) The reason why I brought this little bit of astrology into the lecture, is to point out that we have our nature. I will give an example of Krsna Ksetra Maharaj. I like to call him, “His Relaxedness.” Happy […]

Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world…simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:rasa108 ::_::{.at.}::_:: gmail dot comysRasa Rasika dasa

We live in a culture of vilification where if someone commits a mistake or even a crime, even a bad one, by publicizing and putting that person to shame and throwing harsh words at that person kills any chance of that person to repent and change. No on…

Hare Krishna! 13th Annual Lord Jagannatha’s Ratha Yatra At Rijeka, Croatia, Europe
The 13th annual Ratha Yatra Festival in Rijeka, Croatia was held on Saturday, 6th June, 2015. The procession started at 5pm from Jelacic Square then proceeded through Korzo street to Jadranski Trg and back to Korzo. A stage program was held from 7pm to 9pm. Special guests for the festival were His Holiness Candramauli Swami, HH Smita Krsna Swami, HG Vaiyasaki Dasa Prabhu and HG Rohini-Suta Prabhu. HH Krsna Ksetra Swami was expected to arrive with the Slovenian devotees. Prasadam distribution was held at 7.30 pm near the parking precinct of the Chariot. This was the largest public ISKCON or Hare Krishna festival in Croatia and the main street in Rijeka, Korzo was filled with cheerful devotees of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi.
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Yamuna about George Harrison.
“He was a genuine, likeable person and, in spite of his fame, a gentleman and a terrific record producer.”
Yamuna: One day George Harrison called Shyamasundara and asked us to come to the Abbey Road Studios to record. He was there recording “Here Comes the Sun” and had slotted in some time to record the mahamantra as a single. In his role as record producer, George was soft-spoken, but no-nonsense.
As an expert musician, he knew how to get the best from us, tapping into each of our strengths and making them better. He knew where to place us to take the best advantage of what he saw we had. He was a genuine, likeable person and, in spite of his fame, a gentleman and a terrific record producer. This manifested in many ways, particularly with how he worked with our group of nonprofessional musicians.
“On the day of the recording, about a dozen devotees, including some newly-recruited Britishers, assembled at the recording studios on Abbey Road. When the first group of devotees arrived in George’s Mercedes, a crowd of teenagers began singing Hare Krishna to the tune popularized by the rock musical Hair. While Yamuna applied Vaishnava tilak to the foreheads of the recording technicians, Malati unpacked picnic baskets of prasadam, and some of the other devotees put up pictures of Krishna and lit incense. The studio was duly Krishnized.
With Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, operating the control console, the recording session began. Everyone worked quickly, making Side One of the 45 rpm record in about an hour. George played organ and Mukunda played mridanga. Yamuna sang the lead with Shyamasundara backing her, and the other voices blended in a chorus. And to make it come out exactly right, everyone concentrated on Prabhupada and prayed for spiritual strength.”
-Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta
Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion: Part 1: Preparing an Offering of Love. Unalloyed Inc. Kindle Edition.

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Hare Krishna! Free Trip to Kolkata in August 11th to 16th
This trip will include complementary return ticket, accommodation, transfers, all prasad and a trip around the holy places of Kolkata. Preference will be given on 1st come basis. There is free trip for only one person for each country. What you will have to do is to particpate in the Golden Jubilee celebration of Srila Prabhupada’s Voyage to America and Kick-start of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Kolkata from 11th to 16th August 2015. Also you will have to be part of an event to create a new Gunniese Book of world record. So you will have to reach Kolkata latest by the morning of 11th August 2015 and to be in Kolkata at least till the morning of 14th August 2015.Also you have to carry the passport of your country on the day of the event on 13th August 2015.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18350

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Hare Krishna! TOVP Tour Daily Diary: Day 97-102, New Hastinapura, Richmond, Columbus, Detroit, Houston
On Sunday, June 28th, we arrived at ISKCON Houston at the home of Advaitachandra and Kalasuddha prabhus. They are leaders in the U.S. of the Bhakti V… Read more ›

This twenty-one-minute video shows carefully selected moments from ISKCON’s International Navadwip Parikrama 2015. The event took place on 22-28 Feb, and was organised by the ISKCON World Headquaters at Mayapur Dhama. A video by Vasudev Da…

Young religious environmental leaders from around the world, including four ISKCON devotees, attended an environmental “convergence” and march in Rome at the end of June. The event was put on by Our Voices, a New Jersey based inte…

United Nations – Remarks by Xiuhtezcatl, indigenous climate activist and Youth Director of Earth Guardians at the opening segment of the High-level event of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change (29 June 2015).

Harinama during a festival in Czech Republic (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the Age of Kali, there is no religious principle except chanting Krishna’s name. It has been ascertained from all the scriptures that Krishna’s holy name is the essence of all mantras. (Renunciation Through Wisdom, 5.1 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/sRxCrn

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On Sunday, June 28th, we arrived at ISKCON Houston at the home of Advaitachandra and Kalasuddha prabhus. They are leaders in the U.S. of the Bhakti Vrksha programs, helping devotees all across the country to organize their efforts in this regard. Their home was like Vaikuntha; every inch of wall-space was covered by either a

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 102: Houston, Texas TOVP Presentation appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

June 25th, 2015.
The post Conversation with guests in Istanbul (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The history of the Detroit Temple, Devasadan, is known to many, and within that history lies the seed of the fruition of Srila Prabhupada’s vision of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. As the story goes, as told by Ambarisa prabhu at all of his TOVP presentations, he joined ISKCON in Detroit which is a

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 101: Devasadan Temple (Detroit) TOVP Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

On Friday, June 26th, we arrived in Detroit, Michigan at the home of Temple President Jagad Guru das and his wife Radha devi dasi, and were served the most wonderful varieties of International cuisine at lunch. A TOVP presentation had been arranged for that evening in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit, at a large

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 100: Arrival in Detroit, Michigan/Farmington Hills TOVP Presentation appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

We arrived in Columbus, Ohio on the evening of Wednesday, June 24th, and stayed at the home of Prema Sindhu and Lila Valisini prabhus. The next day, Tuesday, June 25th, we moved to the home of temple president, Naveen Krishna and his wife Vraja Bhakti (named Radha Madhava House). We visited the small Columbus temple

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 99: Columbus, Ohio TOVP Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

The small devotee community in Richmond, Virginia is run by temple president Divyanam das, and he and his wife Premalatika devi dasi, along with their two children Kulashekhar and Mahatma, hosted us in their home. The TOVP presentation on Tuesday, June 23rd was in the home of Subala Sakha das and Krishna Pramodni devi dasi

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 98: Visit to Richmond, Virginia appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

On Sunday, June 21st, we were scheduled for two TOVP presentations. The first was at New Hastinapura Dhama in the U.S.A.’s capital, Washington, D.C.. This is also one of the original temples established by Srila Prabhupada and, in fact, the main Deities of Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan were the first Radha Krishna Deities in

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 97: New Hastinapura (ISKCON Washington, D.C.) and ISKCON Baltimore TOVP Presentations appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Presenting Krishna consciousness in a cultural way in Niechorze, Poland (Album with 100 photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The lighthouse in Niechorze, Poland on the Baltic Sea guided sailors safely to shore for centuries. Now Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement, in the form of our transcendental festival, is helping people to cross over the vast ocean of material existence. The two days we spent with our program next to the lighthouse attracted thousands and thousands of people. May they continue their spiritual journey back to Godhead and arrive safely one day in Sri Vrindavan Dhama.
See them here: https://goo.gl/9jQrwD

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Hare Krishna! Photos for ISKCON 50th Anniversary Magazine
The magazine is mainly pictorial, and we really need good quality high res photos, urgently now, to be able to complete the layout. * do you have high resolution quality photos of Temples, deiti… Read more ›

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Hare Krishna! San Francisco Airport Arrival Lila, 1974
Devotees of all sizes, shapes and colors from all corners of the universe (and perhaps from even beyond) merged together in the bliss of Prabhupada’s famous “airport arrival lila,” completely oblivious to the unbelieving stares and wide-eyed wonders of the unsuspecting passengers. Flowing robes and dangling beads decorated the long corridors like the colored flags and festoons waiting to greet Lord Krishna upon His triumphant arrival in Dvaraka. Sannyasis, grhasthas, brahmacaris, mothers and babies all united together in their love for Srila Prabhupada. It was like a big happy family reunion with everyone present, save and except the kind and well-wishing father whose eagerly anticipated arrival would make everything complete and fully satisfying to everyone.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18335

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The post Daily Darshan – July 9th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

“Anuradha, can you please come home to bathe and dress Giri?”Who will speak these words to me?”dehino smin yatha dehe….” Yes a sober person is not bewildered. Nobody is bewildered about Vishaka mataji. We all know she has gone back to Goloka but the …

The narrators, bards and singers then came forward. Knowing that they wanted to glorify him, Pṛthu smiled and spoke to them with a voice as grave as thunder. “Bho Narrators! Hey bards and gentle singers! I have not yet manifest my qualities, so why should you already make me the object of praise? Do not […]

By persistent effort we can bring ourselves back to the sound and continue to make progress.The importance of hearing the Holy names cannot be overstated.Hearing is the first process in devotional service and the most important.

Neelam is a doctor who lives at Ashmore on the Gold Coast. Her daughter, Sakhi is studying medicine at university and her son Krishna is finishing high school. After leaving India, the family lived in the UK for a while … Continue reading →

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 June 2015, Bhaktivedanta Manor, United Kingdom, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.18.40) Today, I am focusing on mercy, especially the mercy of the spiritual master who is in our life and connecting us with Krsna. I am thinking now of Giriraja das brahmacari, at that time who was in Bombay, fighting the case with […]