Monthly Archives: November 2016

By Cintamani Madhavi Devi Dasi

On Saturday, November 12, the Chariot Festival Ratha Yatra was held in Chile, with thousands of people pulling Lord Jagannath’s car through the main avenue of the capital, followed by a cultural show in fron of the Government Palace La Moneda. In an unprecedented event, Santiago’s main street, Avenida Libertador Bernado O’Higgins, was used exclusively by the majestic chariot that carried the Lord of the Universe and the people who pulled its ropes, filling the streets of Santiago with joy and colors like never before. It all started as a dream. When Sri Bhakti Das, in charge of the Department of Culture of ISKCON Chile, visualized Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra in front of La Moneda, he felt that it would be a beautiful offering for Srila Prabhupada on the 50th anniversary of the International Society for Consciousness Krishna.

By Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Institute

H. G. Jagajivan Prabhu joined ISKCON in the year 1970. He was initiated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada in the year 1972. Throughout his stay at the Hospital H. G. Jagajivan Prabhu was extremely cheerful and always spoke enthusiastically about the preaching mission. He will be fondly remembered by the Hospital team which considers itself fortunate to receive an opportunity to serve this dear devotee of the Lord.

Prabhupada’s Greed

The Pastimes of Lord Ramachandra by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on the occasion of Diwali. 30th October 2016, at Bhaktivedanta Manor, London.

The post “Lord Rama Returns To Ayodhya” Lecture By Bhakti Charu Swami appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

By Madhava Smullen Few prasadam stories from New Vrindaban’s history are as legendary as those of the late Amburish Dasa’s sweet rice and Pitambar Dasi’s ice cream. Straight from the cow barn and prepared by the cowherd couple with deep love and devotion, they were much-craved treats in the austere lives of New Vrindaban’s early […]

During the month of November, every day early in the morning the young daughters of the cowherds would take one another’s hands and, singing of Krishna’s transcendental qualities, go to the Yamuna to bathe. Desiring to obtain Krishna as their … Continue reading →

Below are statements with references from scriptures showing the gradual stages of evolution from materialism to spiritual life to pure love of Godhead. I have ordered them in numbers.

Question: From the revealed scriptures, what is the ultimate goal of life?

1.  The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varṇa and āśrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four varṇas and āśramas – BG 9.27

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 22 April 2016, Radhadesh, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.8.14-16) I read this article about organ donations. Someone sent it around and the article described how you cannot take organs from a dead body. It is not possible because then the organs are spoilt already and can no longer be used for transplant. Therefore you still […]

 

When Monkeys Start Typing!
The chance theory.
Chaitanya Charan das: Typists all over the world, beware. Your jobs are in danger. You have competition….from monkeys. That’s what the scientists would have us believe. At least those scientists who advocate the chance theory.
Chance is a popular word today in the world of science. And why not? It is the one- word answer to all the questions that scientists always found very disconcerting. How did the incredibly vast universe with all its mind-boggling order come about? How did the atom with its intricate design come? Even the tiniest cell is far more complex than the biggest factory on earth. How in the wide world did it come from simple starting elements? Pat comes the reply to all these questions, with a triumphant smile, “Chance.”
THE BIG DOGMA
That there is absolutely no empiric evidence for anything ever having come by chance doesn’t really matter. In the religion of science, there is one unspoken dogma which practically everyone agrees upon: any theory, no matter how coherent and systematic, is unacceptable and “unscientific” if it brings an ultimate creator into the picture. And conversely, any theory, no matter how improbable and untenable, is joyfully embraced if it helps in pushing God out. This scientific (?) mentality is typified by the following statement of William Bonner (pg 119, Mystery of Expanding Universe), “It is the business of science to offer rational explanations for all events in the real world, and any scientist who calls on God to explain something is failing in his job. This is one piece of dogmatism that a scientist can allow himself.”
No wonder then that the chance theory has found many adherents in spite of the absence of even scanty evidence. For a mind programmed since birth to think in a mechanistic (read ‘atheistic’) way, chance is a far more comforting word to hear than God as the ultimate causative principle.

THE MONKEY BUSINESS
Now let us consider whether the chance theory is possible leave even in principle. In the words of the eighteenth century atheistic philosophers Denis Diderot & David Hume: Given infinite time, nature would by chance alone eventually hit on the order that we see around us. A modern version of this theory takes the form of an analogy (first introduced by the famous Eddington): A monkey, if given infinite time, can by itself type the works of Shakespeare. To gullible minds trained to worship scientists as “the champions of truth”, this analogy appears plausible. And since the time scale involved makes it impossible to verify empirically, the chance theory has assumed the status of an infallible truth.
Let’s do some simple common sense analysis of the monkey’s typing adventures. Suppose that you are told to supervise the monkey and suppose you and the monkey are told to work in 8-hour shifts. Day 1. Both you and the monkey arrive on time and the monkey sits dutifully in front of the typewriter and starts typing (Thank goodness!) After 1 hour, what will you see? Some gibberish. Maybe 1 small word here or there. And at end of the day? Several pages of meaningless typed pages. You may find a few meaningful words – but only with great difficulty. (It is after all too much to expect the monkey to press a spacebar exactly after a meaningful word is completed!) Day 2. Again the monkey sits down diligently and you sit behind him and he starts playing. Eight hours later, you are again looking at several printed pages struggling to find even a few meaningful words somewhere. Day 10. “History repeats itself” You begin to realize that whoever said that knew what he was speaking about. The search for meaningful words in streams and streams of meaningless texts is getting on your nerves. Day 100. It is obvious to you by now that what you are looking for is never to be found. Whether it is day 10^0 or 10^2 or 10^1,000 or 10^100000……00000…, it really doesn’t matter. The result of the monkey’ typing is always going to be the same – nonsense. He is not going to learn by experience!
Now let’s assume that the monkey starts working in 24 hour shifts (We won’t ask you to supervise, don’t worry!) Still that is not going to make any difference. A 24 hour shift is just like three 8-hour shifts with no break in between. So just as three 8-hour shifts don’t give any fruitful results, one 24-hour shift will similarly bear no fruit. And just as 8-hour shifts repeated 10^1000….. times don’t lead to any coherent text, neither will 24 hour shifts repeated 10^1000….. times.
The point is that the probability of a monkey typing out all the works of Shakespeare, if given millions of years, is not an infinitesimally small number; it is zero. No matter how many millions, billion, quadrillions or whatever number of years are given to the monkey (assuming he lives that long!), still the probability always remains zero.
Thus even in principle randomness does not produce order on any appreciable scale, irrespective of the time given.
Simple common sense, isn’t it? But “common sense is not so common”, especially in Kali Yuga and especially in the scientific community.
So typists, sorry for the false alarm. But don’t blame us; we didn’t set it on; rather we are setting it off.

THE SMALL BANG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
An entrepreneur got really excited when he first heard about the big bang theory. The very next day he inaugurated his own construction company, ‘The Small Bang Construction Company.’ His only infrastructure – rods of dynamite. His mission statement: “Just as a big bang constructed the whole universe, I will, by small bangs, construct small houses.” His business soon went bankrupt. Don’t you think that the big bang theorists should pay for it? Poor fellow. After all, his only fault is that he believed the big bangers. Little did he know that his bank account would also experience a big bang because of his faith in the big bang! If chance, why copyrights? When Srila Prabhupada was told that the French scientist Dr J Monod won the Nobel Prize in 1965 for his theory that everything came by chance, he at once challenged, “If everything came by chance, then even his theory came by chance! Then what is his credit?” If everything has come by chance, why do scientists copyright their theories. Everything has come by chance, except, of course, their theories! A remarkably self-serving theory, to say the very least!

GOODBYE, MR. CHANCE
Nothing comes by chance; even the chance theory doesn’t come by chance. Everything, especially everything well-organized, has an intelligent designer behind it. So the huge universe and all things in it necessitate a super-intelligent designer.
So Mr Chance, Goodbye. There is no chance for chance among the intelligent. But don’t worry. There is no shortage of fools in Kali Yuga. You can start with the nearest “science” university !

Czech Republic 2016: Double It, Double It Again, And Keep On Increasing …
Padayatra: too hot to drink but too sweet to resist!

Padayatra itself was like a hot sugarcane syrup: so hot it was nearly impossible to drink it, but so sweet that most of us were very eager to drink it again and again for the whole three weeks. To cool us a little bit, Krishna sent us a few cloudbursts. The worst one was so strong that the wind started to push our cart although it was stationary. Soaked by continuous torrents of rain we had to put a big ladder under the wheels to stop the cart from moving. Frequent evening rains affected attendance of our cultural programs, but since this year we had bet on intense Facebook advertisement and bought two spacious folding tents, we still had an attendance of at least 60 to 100 people, even during the rain. It may not look like much but Czech towns and villages are like ghost towns during summer. It often happens you meet only two or three people outside during the day.

Appreciation from recipients of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Ignited with the Fire Of Krsna Consciousness.
I want to thank you for being a critical part in my life. Without the distribution of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s books, I would never have been ignited with the fire of Krsna consciousness. My first contact with Krsna was at my friend’s house. I saw the book The Science of Self Realization lying on the floor, and at that moment I felt an overwhelming, irresistible attraction to borrow the book. I read a few pages and knew I had finally found the truth. I’ve now read about half of your books but had little association with devotees. My goal right now is to join an ISKCON farm community. Hare Krsna.
Jimi
Vashon Island, Washington, USA

By HariKirtan Das

Recently I got an opportunity to attend the conference on Rural development based on cows, conducted by National Institute for Rural Development (NIRD) & Panchayati raj (Ministry for Rural Development, Government of India) Rajendranagar, Hyderabad on 3rd of November, 2016. As a pleasant surprise, I met Rupavilas prabhu (Venumadhuri trust director) who was also giving a seminar sharing his experience about Venumadhuri NGO activities. Seminar was well organized by NIRD inviting the elite group consisting of Senior IAS officers, scientists, doctors, scholars, NGO’s directors. I was the only odd man out representing a spiritual organization. It took me a while to convince the gate keeper to allow me in as he couldn’t believe that in saffron robes I was also a participant.

By Kesava Krsna Dasa We may be surprised to learn that many things we consider as acts of spiritual advancement in Krishna consciousness, like tapasya or austerity, are actually acts of selfishness, and will impede our real growth. Even following the…

By Indradyumna Swami

So we should arrange things, we should arrange our life in such a way that we don’t become overburdened with unnecessary things and so our whole life revolves either around chanting the holy names or distributing the holy names to others. This is the Internationals society for…this is our business. To get up in the morning and chant, to join the congregation of devotees and chant and somehow assist the sankirtana movement. A famous verse amongst kirtaniya’s. Whatever results was attained in Satya yuga by meditating on Visnu, in the Treta yuga by performing agnihotra’s or sacrifices and in Dvapara yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet which meant technically going to the temple, can be obtained in Kali yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

ComicCon – An Ocean of Mercy!
Mahotsaha das: Bhakta Cesar and I distributed 667 books over a long weekend at the annual comic book convention.

The comic convention is where over 100,000 people come to the Javits Center by Penn Station in NYC and buy paraphernalia related to their favorite comic book characters. So, of course we made sure they also received some of Srila Prabhupada’s books, the original comic books.

We encountered many costumed characters. I encountered one of the most peculiar people at this event while meditating on the third verse of the prayers to the guru we chant every day:
“He who has given the gift of transcendental vision is our lord, birth after birth. By his mercy divine knowledge is revealed within our hearts, bestowing pure love for Kṛṣṇa and destroying ignorance. The Vedic scriptures sing of his character.”
He was a young boy with blood splattered on his clothes and lips and face painted white.

To grab his attention, I asked him how he did his make-up and he took a few minutes to explain the process. The attendees spent so much time and money on their costumes that they were happy to showcase their efforts.

I then glorified the Bhagavatam offering him a copy.
“This book is 5,000 years old and will help you distinguish reality from illusion.”
Convinced, he took the book and while looking for his wallet told me some of the terrible things he had experienced.
“I have had it rough all my life. I’m seventeen years old and no one in the world loves me. My father was the only one that ever loved me and he passed away recently. My mother pretends to love me but only when other people are around. She physically abuses me when we are alone, because she never wanted me. I am also constantly beaten up and harassed in school by bullies.”
He continued:
“I was recently in the psych ward, they put me there because I showed my counselor the book I wrote where I mentioned a 100 ways I planned on killing the bullies.” And with a crazed look in his eyes he admitted, “I was even going to do it, but then they tied me up in the psych ward with chains and all I could do was bang my head into the walls. After some treatment they let me out. To be honest, I feel like I have been transforming into the character I’ve dressed up as.”
His costume was “Jeff the killer,” from an Internet horror meme. By taking that Easy Journey to Other Planets book he will have the opportunity to change the course of his life from an easy journey to the darkest regions of ignorance to the realms of eternal bliss and full knowledge.

So many we met were just like this boy, pretending to be a particular character in this miserable world. Dressed in their costume (their body) they walk around convinced that they belong to this temporary ocean of misery. By Srila Prabhupada’s mercy “Jeff the Killer” and hundreds of others received the gift that by reading or even touching can destroy the ignorance that has kept them suffering in the ocean of samsara. We pray that we can continue to serve as instruments of this divine mission.

The Lord Mayor of the most livable city in the world, Melbourne, loves the Hare Krishna Movement.
I would like to share an unexpected surprise yesterday in Melbourne Harinam. We (group of devotees) were doing our regular Harinam in Swanston Street. We were in front of Town Hall, suddenly a long official car stops right front of our Harinam party and to our surprise Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle joined our Harinam, greeted each devotee with a hand shake and hugs to kids and played ‘hi five’ with them, he said ‘I thank you and appreciate you people’s contribution towards incorporating multiculturalism to our Melbourne City’. He accepted Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita. He posed for a group photo, displayed here.
Your servant,
Sukadeva Das

It Just Seemed so Right!
Swarupa das: Some time ago, a Saturday night I went to the ER with high fevers and cellulitis (swelling and redness due to infection in the blood). I was admitted and finally got to my room early Sunday morning. I was feeling …

The original Radha Vinoda, the Deities of Lokanatha Goswami (Album with photos)
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: We’re in Jaipur right now. We’ve been having wonderful darshanas. We have had darsana of Radha Govinda, Radha Gopinatha, Radha-Damodara…

Prabhupada’s Dreams Become Reality

Written by Sesa Das  On Friday afternoon (14 October), Kadamba Kanana Swami arrived in Mauritius; an amazing country with a lot of culture and respect. Maharaj saw this within the first few moments after he landed. Whilst walking to the immigration counter he was respectfully greeted and ushered to the staff queue, which quickened things […]

Braja Badrinath Karttika 2016 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: Come along with us through the pictures of Vittalrukmini P…Read More…

Sri Vrndavan 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: …if you cannot do anything, simply come and offer your obeisances: “My dear Lord Krsna, I am so poor, so unfortunate, I cannot do all these things, but I offer my humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet.” From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture, Sri Vyasa-puja – August 22, 1973, London
Find them here: https://goo.gl/GIk5oX

By Gaurachandra Das

Recently, there were incidents of anti-corruption protests started by some national leaders in India. They had started nation-wide awakenings to make the people alert and aware for corruption free India and curbing the use of black-money. Such efforts may be appreciable to some extent but they are not perfect as far as wiping out of corruption from a state is concerned. The people are in general attached to sense gratificatory propaganda, and such protests can’t withdraw sinful tendencies from the minds of the public. Consequently, people are again taken up by such tendencies and the nations can’t breathe relief. The recent incidents of mass killings, terrorism, and rape-incidents are a proof that any attempt to curb corruption by artificial means by above leaders may not be perfect as long as the society is not properly educated in bonafide religion. The Bhagavata vision of anticorruption campaign is in this way different, it is aimed at following four regulative principles and spreading of sankirtana religion. The four regulative principles are no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling and no illicit sex. The history of this fact is corroborated in Srimad Bhagavatam in the event of Maharaj Pariksit curbing the personality of kali-yuga.

By Nima Suchak

The archives of famed Leicestershire architect Joseph Goddard were handed over to ISKCON in a ceremony on Monday 14th November. Tony and Joe Goddard, the great grandsons of Joseph Goddard, the architect of Leicester’s Clock Tower and the grade 2* listed former bank on Granby Street, signed over archives and their copyright to the care of ISKCON in the presence of members of Leicester City Council, representatives from The Victorian Society, historians and design students. The archives will be placed in a newly built Heritage Room at the Centre for the benefit of schools, colleges, universities, and the general public. Joseph Goddard designed and built the grade II* listed heritage property at the heart of Leicester City Centre in 1874 as the headquarters of the Leicestershire Banking Company. The spectacular gothic building which is now an ISKCON Centre has long been acknowledged as a landmark in Leicester’s Victorian architecture, and one of Goddard’s most important works. The building is set to contribute to regeneration, engagement and a place of a multi-variety of activities to suit the needs of all people.

Discourse on last eve of Kartika.

Grihastha Training – The Language of Love and Appreciation.
Good relationships don’t just happen. They require knowledge and plenty of practice, practice, and more practice! In this three hour seminar, you will find out how we all have different ways we want to be appreciated and express appreciation. By filling out a simple questionnaire you will identify both of your primary and secondary love languages. This will help you understand why you may not always feel appreciation from those near and dear to you. It will also help you identify how other people in your life best understand your appreciation, i.e. what is their love language. This will allow you to express your heartfelt appreciation of your partner/ friend/ co-worker in a way they can understand and value, maybe for the first time!

ISKCON Youth Sankirtana Bus Tour Across Mexico
ISKCON Youth Ministry’s annual Mexico Bus Tour is coming up December 9, 2016 – January 3, 2017, taking youth and young adults ages 16 and older on an amazing adventure of a lifetime. Young people will be flying in from all over the USA and Canada, the UK to spend three weeks traveling across Mexico, presenting Krishna culture festivals in towns and villages, going on Harinama Sankirtana, and visiting Mayan pyramids, jungle waterfalls and beaches along the way.

New Raman Reti Second Generation Initiative.
Going strong since its launch one year ago the New Raman Reti 2nd Generation Initiative – dedicated to the 25 to 45-year-olds in our community – is going strong since its launch one year ago. Its three main…

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNLrNRT

By Chaitanya Charan Das “Man proposes, God disposes” has been the cause of immense frustration for humanity since time immemorial. The best plans are often foiled forever in a single moment by factors beyond human control. Misery can be said to be the …

Installation of Sriman Mahaprabhu at the Govardhan Eco Village. (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Krsna says in the fourteenth verse, Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita: “It is very difficult to surmount the problems offered by the laws of material nature, but one who surrenders unto Me, he overcomes.” Therefore we are teaching this Krsna consciousness to solve the problems of life. It is not sentiment or fanaticism or any sectarian religion. It is a fact that if you want to solve the problems of life, you have to become Krsna conscious. There is no other alternative. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 7.14 – September 8, 1969, Hamburg
Find them here: https://goo.gl/FYW8Fe

“Atiya”. From the Harinama group of New York.
She was staring at the Harinam. I said, “Salaam alaikum.” She replied, and I began to speak to her about love of God. She asked about the goal of life and how to obtain it. I answered that we need to learn about the name, form, qualities and pastimes of Allah, and develop love for Him and that this Krishna book was about the pastimes of the Lord since He was a boy until He wrapped up his pastimes. By reading this, I told her, you can develop attachment for God and obtain His eternal abode and associate with Him. She was interested and satisfied and took both the books by Radharani’s mercy. Later she sent an email expressing her appreciation of the Hare Krishna chanting and teachings.

It was Hard to Keep Up with Prabhupada

On the evening of the 27th of Oct 2016, Bollywood fashion designer Rohit Verma invited Jayapataka Swami to have a Damodar program at his fashion studio in Mumbai. It was a short and well-organized program for which Rohit Verma had invite…