May 15. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: The First Time I Bowed Down.
One time, my supervisor, Mr. Rice, shouted over in my direction, “Mr. Guarino, you are gonna have to complete the Garcia case so that she can get a check this afternoon. I want you to stay in the office and do it, so don’t go out to lunch until one. Is that all right?” It was not all right, but what could I say? So I went to the hallway phone booth and dialled the Swami’s number. The thing I was most attached to in the world was going every day at noon to have lunch with the Swami and the boys. So Mr. Rice’s command drove me to the radical move of phoning up the Swami. This was in the early days, before I was initiated.
I heard the phone ring and the Swami answered, “Hello?”
I said, “Swamiji, this is Steve. Do you remember me?”
Swamiji said yes, he remembered me.
I said, “I won’t be able to come today at noon for lunch because I have to stay in the office and work. But I’ll come over at one o’clock. Could you ask the devotees to please save some prasadam for me?”
“Yes,” said Prabhupada. He made it sound like it was not a problem. As I hung up, I was very pleased that I had made the phone call. Nowadays, it doesn’t seem like the proper way to treat Prabhupada, and in the later years of ISKCON with Prabhupada there was no question of doing such a thing. First of all, you wouldn’t be able to reach Prabhupada by phone; you would reach his secretary. But in those days it was right, and it was nice. It was a way to surrender and develop friendship. I very much wanted to go and be with him and eat his prasadam.
It turned out to be a better treat than usual, because by the time I got there all the boys were gone. Swamiji was there and the rug was still rolled back. The office had been demanding – so much bureaucracy and talk and nonsense, and now I had only one hour left before I had to plunge back into it. I came to take shelter with the Swami.
He told me to sit down, and so I waited alone in the room. He made up the plate and then came in and put it before me on the floor. I said, “Thank you,” and I bowed down before him.
He said, “Yes.”
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

The First Time I Bowed Down

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 9.14 in the Darshan Room of Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji Temple. “Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” (Bg 9.14) “From a certain point of view it may seem impossible to always engage in kirtan. Of […]

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 May 2016, Vrndavana, India, Bhagavad-gita 3.34) We may not be fully Krsna conscious, our love for Krsna may not be so deep and there may be other desires. But this is just restlessness. How much faith do we have in these other desires? Which devotee can claim to have full faith […]

By Jagabandhu das By His Divine Grace I would learn what true broadmindedness really was from the great heart of someone so transcendentally magnanimous that he could “build a house the whole world could leave in.” Without being intimidated by other’s …

By Vilasini Devi Dasi

“How is it possible to be healthy and happy in a place where the weather is constantly dreary and cold?” I thought. I remembered Srila Prabhupada’s statement in a purport to the Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.24.36): “When there is sufficient sunshine, the mind remains clear and transparent in other words, the sun-god helps the mind of the living entity to become situated on the platform of paramahamsa [‘topmost swan,’ or transcendentalist].” Does it not follow, then, that with insufficient sunshine the mind becomes hazy and opaque and stays on the platform of a crow? After all, Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that He is the light of the sun and moon, and Prabhupada affirms in the purport to that verse that “the light of the sun and the moon originally emanate from the brahmajyoti, which is the bodily effulgence of Krsna.” For one’s spiritual life, wouldn’t it be better to live in a place where one could bask in the rays of thebrahmajyoti and be elevated effortlessly to the paramahamsa platform? Isn’t it described in the Gita that unnecessary austerities that torture the body or mind are in the mode of ignorance? If Krsna is all-pervading, isn’t He also in sunny California? Aren’t there thousands of conditioned souls there that I could help find Krsna consciousness?

By Visakha Devi Dasi Sita Follows Her Conscience: In the Ramayana, Sita Devi first clearly expresses her own will by disobeying Lord Rama, who wants her to stay behind when He leaves for His exile to the forest. She decides that to be with Rama in all …

Vaiyasaki Book Bestseller: Stephen Hawking On Trial – Confronting the Big Bang. A new book by Vaiyasaki das.
Sunanda das: Vaiyasaki Das, the well-known ISKCON kirtaniya, and author, recently published his newest book, Stephen Hawking On Trial – Confronting the Big Bang. Like his first Blockbuster book Cosmology On Trial – Cracking the Cosmic Code, this book is now also a Bestseller in its category on Amazon.
Vaiyasaki has taken seriously Srila Prabhupada’s instruction to expose the scientific account of the origin of the universe as mostly speculation with very little data to back up the assertions. Hawking is one of the world’s leading cosmologists, and disproving so-called scientific assertions will become one of the foundations for presenting the conclusive and self-effulgent truths of the Vedic scriptures and acharyas.
As the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium rises, and ISKCON reaches greater levels of public attention, it will be necessary for devotees to explain where science is right and where it is wrong. Therefore, I agree with other senior devotees that we would do well to seriously read these books of Vaiyasaki Das (Pierre St Clair). Sadaputa Das (Dr. Richard L. Thompson PhD), the architect of the planetarium design for the TOVP (www.youtube.com/SadaputaChannel) used to stress this point regularly, “It is not enough to just say that the Vedas are right and science is wrong. We must know why.” Srila Prabhupada wanted us to understand the importance and power of seeing through the veil of illusion created by modern materialistic science by which it presents itself as the authority on the universe.
Please click this link: http://amzn.to/1ZEIiim to read the latest five-star review by Top Ten and Hall of Fame reviewer, J. Chambers. Once you read the review, click ‘Yes, this was helpful’ under the review as this simple click will increase the exposure, popularity and sales of the book. Vaiyasaki has made this book available at the ridiculously low price of $0.99 to get it into everyone’s hands. Please purchase this book, or both his books, on the same review page.
Note: If you do not have a Kindle, just download the Free Kindle App to your Computer, Tablet or Smartphone to read the book.

2016 West Coast Vaisnavi Retreat celebrating ISKCON50.
You are invited to attend an ISKCON50 Celebration, a one-day Vaishnavi women’s retreat to be held in Camarillo, California – a short drive north of Los Angeles.
The theme of this exciting gathering is an extremely important one, “ Deepening our Relationship with Srila Prabhupada”.
Featuring: kirtan, seminars, Prabhupada memories, special guest speakers, sumptuous prasadam (breakfast, lunch and dinner), new friends, and much more…
Early bird registration is $25. From May 30th to June 24th, fee will be $30; and on the day of the event, $35. (Includes three full meals of delicious prasadam.)
When: June 25, 2016, 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM
Where: 206 Smuggler’s Cove
Camarillo, CA 93012
310 245-4706
Directions: http://goo.gl/nSUoU6
Please contact us if you have questions.
Rambhoru devi dasi, Radha devi dasi, Nandini Radha devi dasi
radha16108@gmail.com (760)449-0469
To register: https://goo.gl/qQ13pL

Museum of Sacred Art.
The Museum for Sacred Art is a feature of the Radhadesh Iskcon community (Chateau de Petite Somme – Durbuy Belgium). In the Museum there are many beautiful works of art depicting sacred themes from ancient India.
These works of art are mainly in traditional Indian styles, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthani, Orissan, Keralan, and Tanjore.
Visitors can relax, stroll through the gallery, and enjoy these inspirational art treasures, soaking up the deep devotional sentiments expressed by the artists.
The Museum was conceived by Martin Gurvich (Mahaprabhu Dasa), secretary of the Hindu Forum of Belgium.
Read more: http://goo.gl/eOYgl9

Study at the Bhakti Academy.
How would you like to pursue spiritual life, even while earning your college degree? If you’re between the ages of 18 and 29, consider enrolling in the Bhakti Academy at Krishna House (214 NW 14th Street, Gainesville, FL 32603). Students live in private or semi-private rooms just three blocks from the UF library. While at Krishna House, students take part in traditional bhakti yoga and meditation practices (kirtan, japa, and Bhagavad-gita study), enjoy fresh daily vegan/vegetarian meals and can even take advantage of simple work/study programs to pay for it all. Applicants may be but are not required to be students at UF or Santa Fe College or even residents of Krishna House. They only need a strong desire to discover inner happiness and a wilingness to test-drive bhakti yoga in a drug-free environment. You’re invited to check out Krishna House by attending any of the bhakti yoga classes, which are held most mornings and evenings. You can print and fill out the application here: http://goo.gl/ErkYoC. If you are not able to visit, please contact us: http://goo.gl/WGyyBp.

Loughborough Festival, UK – 13th May 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The devotee can constantly think of the object of worship, the Supreme Lord, in any of His features—Narayana, Krishna, Rama, etc. – by chanting Hare Krishna. This practice will purify him, and at the end of his life, due to his constant chanting, he will be transferred to the kingdom of God. Bhagavad-Gita 8.8 Purport
Find them here: https://goo.gl/aZymRz

Almost Instant! On a tight schedule? These delicious dishes for Krsna are quick and easy!
Visakha Devi Dasi: Krsna Prasadam. I was looking through a new cookbook on making meals in twenty minutes, and I read, “Never before have so many people wanted so much out of life and had so little time to enjoy it. Between inflation, two-job marriages, and the quest for self-improvement, the momentum of our life style has us all dancing at a furious reel of achieving and coping. Something has to give. And usually the first thing to go is the time spent preparing our daily meals….”
When it comes to food, we want it effortlessly and fast. That’s why forty percent of the American food dollar is spent in restaurants and why an uncalculated amount is spent on fast foods at home precooked, frozen, canned, and instant.
But why, in the “momentum of our life style,” is cooking the first thing to go? Why not TV? Or the movies? Or the baseball game? Well, maybe it’s because cooking takes a lot of effort and the reward is often small and fleeting. We may labor for a few hours to make an elegant luncheon, only to be left with a pile of dirty dishes an hour after it’s served; and then a few hours later, everyone’s ready for another meal. Was it worth the effort? From the statistics, most of us must think not. We’d rather phone for a take-out pizza and sit back for Star Trek reruns. There are just more important things to do than cook.
Krsna’s devotees, however, have a different attitude. Our desire to get an understanding of who we are, who God is, and what our relationship with Him is. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna explains that the process for achieving this goal is devotional service.
Time spent in devotional service is important. Time spent in other ways is wasted and can never be regained even at the cost of millions of dollars. The Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.3.17) confirms, “Both by rising and setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time in devotional service to the all-good Personality of Godhead.” Similarly, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “With every rising and setting of the sun, a day passes and is lost. Why then do you remain idle and not serve the Lord of the heart?” And a great devotee of the Lord prayed, “O my Lord, I have spent my life uselessly. Having obtained a human birth and having not served Radha and Krsna, I have knowingly drunk poison.”
A devotee understands that if we’re slapping a meal together so we can get out of the kitchen and watch TV, we’re wasting our time both in the kitchen and out of it. Cooking, or anything else done for our sense pleasure, is useless as far as spiritual realization goes; ultimately it won’t help us enjoy life or get much out of it. But if we’re cooking for Krsna (or doing any other activity for His satisfaction), our time is perfectly spent.
The care we take in finding the proper ingredients for cooking, as well as the love and devotion we give to preparing and offering dishes to the Lord, are all part of our quest for self-realization; they’re all devotional service. Those who purchase the food for Krsna, those who cook it, those who offer it, those who serve it, those who taste it, and those who clean up afterward all get a reward that’s neither small nor fleeting. They get eternal, spiritual benefit. In one way or another, they are engaging in devotional service, and that will lead them to the highest enjoyment in life.
The care we take in finding the proper ingredients for cooking, as well as the love and devotion we give to preparing and offering dishes to the Lord, are all part of our quest for self-realization; they’re all devotional service. Those who purchase the food for Krsna, those who cook it, those who offer it, those who serve it, those who taste it, and those who clean up afterward all get a reward that’s neither small nor fleeting. They get eternal, spiritual benefit. In one way or another, they are engaging in devotional service, and that will lead them to the highest enjoyment in life. It’s all a matter of knowing the process.
Sometimes it seems that the dishes Lord Krsna favors most take the longest time to make like milk sweets that must be boiled down for forty-five minutes, or kachauris (stuffed savories) that are deep-fried for twenty-five minutes. Yet, even in the momentum of our devotional lifestyle, we’re often fully engaged doing other services and don’t have as much time as we’d like to cook for Krsna. So this month, we’re featuring dishes that are quick and easy and that are also pleasing to the Lord. Puffed rice, for example, is a light meal, great for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon or evening snack. Not exactly “instant,” but almost. And every second that we give to making, offering, serving, and tasting these foods brings us closer to our goal: an eternal life full of bliss and knowledge with Krsna.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/HRMbbn

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The post Daily Darshan: May 14th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Teachers’ Appreciation Day at TKG Academy, Dallas.
At the heart of the school are the students, of course. Directly nurturing them are our wonderful teachers. Ultimately, it is thanks to them that our students are happy and successful. It’s their hard work and dedication that drive everything. It’s their daily, personal interactions, their care and attention, their patience and love which directly affect the children’s learning experience.
While we deeply appreciate their hard work year-around, on Friday, May 6th, we observed “Teachers’ Appreciation Day” at TKG Academy, to express our immense gratitude. Under Krishna Mangala Mataji’s coordination, parents brought elaborate lunch preparations. Many students wrote cards to their teachers and some brought gifts.
This year we included our volunteer teachers as well. Each teacher received a personalized gift, related to their subject of instruction. It was a lovely celebration of appreciation, marking an outstanding year of steadfast service.
Read more: http://goo.gl/1rlfsR

Delhi Stadium Event to Honor Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
“Although the Bhakti movement has spread far and wide, not many people know its founder Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – even in India,” says ISKCON’s communications director in North India, Yudhistira Govinda Das.
With the Festival of Inspiration in New Delhi this May 28th, he hopes to begin changing that. Supported by the Government of India’s Ministry of Culture, the event will take place at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium near Parliament. It’s expected to draw a full house.
The festival will commemorate the 500th anniversary of Sri Chaitanya visiting Lord Krishna’s home village, Vrindavana. But more than that, it will celebrate the timeless teachings of India – service, compassion and devotion to God – that the 15th-century saint and Avatar exemplified and broadcast.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/53r8Rn

Harinama in Magic Rocks, Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Our relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality …

May 14. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Worship the Moments Spent with Swamiji.
I worship the moments spent with Swamiji in his apartment. On one particularly quiet night, I was the only one with him. The front doorbell rang and I went down to see who it was. It was Donald, a pudgy, bespectacled young man from uptown. He was probably the only non-hippie coming to the storefront at that time. He was a junior executive with the Pepsi-Cola company and he usually dressed in shirt and tie. When I met him at the door, he asked if he could come up to see the Swami. I replied, “He’s alone tonight, so let me see if it is all right.” I went back upstairs and said, “It is someone who wants to see you.”
Prabhupada asked, “What is he like?” I told Prabhupada that Donald appeared very respectable; he was not a crazy person. When Prabhupada heard that, he gladly gave his permission and I went down to let Donald in. He came upstairs, took off his stylish raincoat, and went in to sit down with Swamiji in his room. I stayed in the other room where I had some typing to do. But I overheard Donald asking academic questions about the position of Lord Siva in relationship with Krishna. Donald later got initiated and was given the name Dvarakadhisa, but within a few years he had stopped coming to the temple.
Remembering and worshiping the minutes may be done by offerings of flowers, just as we do in arati. But I also have the feeling of shooting into the past like a sportsman hitting targets with a bow and arrow. The targets are waiting, all the minutes and hours of the past.
Inevitably, we turn toward memories that we’ve enjoyed many times. But that doesn’t make them less important or less worshipable. If we remember a favorite moment once again, it may bring out new lights.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

Worship the Moments Spent with Swamiji

https://www.createspace.com/6251033 <– you can get the paperback here, now. If you are going to see me in May, it’ll be cheaper to buy it directly from me. If you want a kindle or pdf, please hang on till June. Rādhe Rādhe Śyāma ! Tagged: 108hc, hardcore, Hare Krishna, ISKCON, krishnacore, straightedge

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.54 “The basic principle of Deity worship is that one must understand oneself to be an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord. One who is addicted to sexual gratification, foolishly identifying himself with the external material body, cannot change his conception of himself from that of an enjoyer to […]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.3.52-53. “Srila Prabhupada says that if you dress the deity in beautiful garments you will lose the desire to dress yourself in beautiful garments. In other words by engaging in the service of the senses of the Lord, our senses will become so satisfied transcendentally that we will not want […]

ISKCON Mayapur Boat Festival (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name …

By Bharat Chandra das Unless we simplify our dietary habits, it is not possible to achieve self-sufficiency in our village community projects and it is not possible to become simple. Our conditioning with opulent food that comes from three thousand dif…

By Amogha das A few years ago I presented a photo table at a Sunday feast at one of our temples. One devotee came up to the table and held a photo of Lord Nrsimhadev in his hands. I encouraged him to take Lord Nrsimhadev home, but he said, “If I was qu…

ISKCON to Open First Ever Temple in Guyanese Capital.
Devotees are set to open their first ever temple in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, this July as an offering to Srila Prabhupada for the 50th anniversary of his ISKCON.
The temple, located in an extremely sought-after area, will receive its grand opening during a five-day festival beginning on July 13th, the day Prabhupada incorporated his society.
It’s set to be a pinnacle for ISKCON Guyana, which is already one of the most active ISKCON congregations in the world per capita.
“The country has a population of only 750,000 people, but we now have five temples and six annual Rathayatras,” says temple board chairman Prabhupada Deva Das.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/wbsUqQ

Isvari Priya Devi Dasi: I have put together this fundraising to help the devotees at Mahaprahu’s birth place to finish building a bigger gosala.

Often, the competitive desire to “be the best” can carry over into our divine pursuit. We mentally create a spiritual CV and proceed to judge our success based on the achievements, recognition and respect that we can build up with…

By Giriraj dasa A few months back I had the good fortune to get association of a senior Vaishanava. During the lecture one line that really touched my heart was the advice that we should daily pray to Prabhupada to ‘make me an instrument of your compas…

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Nearly 20 diverse civil rights and religious groups today asked a court to support a community of Muslims in New Jersey who have been trying to build a house of worship for almost a decade.

For thirty years, a very special Lord Nrsimhadeva Deity has protected the devotees of New Vrindaban and all of North America, and received their love and service. Now, residents of the West Virginia village want to invite people from all over…

Mayapur Institute: Unfolding Srila Prabhupada’s biggest vision on Education.
To fulfill this vision of Srila Prabhupada, Mayapur Institute (MI) was established in the year 2000. Since the launch of the Institute in 2000, over 2500 students of various religion, caste, creed and sex coming from various places like USA, UK, Russia, China, Australia, Africa, Europe, etc. have benefited from these programs.
Due to growth in student enrollment every year, the current classrooms and offices are inadequate. Hence, MI has embarked on setting up an exclusive campus at Mayapur.
The Project
Mayapur Institute Campus project, located behind the Gurukul and conceived from the fabulous architectural style of the ancient Dwaraka city is spread over 10 acres surrounded by the green space bursting with fields and forests. Situated on the banks of Ganga, it is ideal for those with a taste for walking through lovely natural areas. The entire campus and all the buildings will be fully vastu compliant with a general slope from SW to NE.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/6CYf0A

The post Daily Darshan: May 13th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

http://www.villavrindavana.org/en/