Monthly Archives: November 2016

Prabhupada said: “You failed to present me with a superior description of God. I have His picture right here. You have not even a word to say. So you please accept Him as God right now.”

Caru das: In a letter to all temple presidents Karandhar wrote, “The etiquette is to invite the guru to your temple. It’s not likely that he’ll come, but invite him.”

By Drutakarma Dasa Providing a strong challenge to established academic perception and methodology, Drutakarma Dasa presents the Vaisnava Hindu worldview on the fundamental concepts to the approach to and interpretation of the archaeological record. H…

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The perfection of life: Jagannatha maha-prasadam!
Srila Prabhupada: The yogis are trying to control the senses by force. “I shall go to the Himalayas. I shall not see any more beautiful woman. I shall close down my eyes.” These are forceful. You cannot control your senses. There are many instances. You don’t require to go to Himalaya. You just remain in Los Angeles city and engage your eyes to see Krsna, you are more than a person who has gone to Himalayas. You’ll forget all other thing. This is our process. You don’t require to change your position. You engage your ears for hearing Bhagavad-gita As It Is, you’ll forget all nonsense. You engage your eyes to see the beauty of the Deity, Krsna. You engage your tongue for tasting Krsna prasadam. You engage your legs to come to this temple. You engage your hands to work for Krsna. You engage your nose to smell the flowers offered to Krsna. Then where your senses will go? He’s captivated all round. The perfection is sure. You don’t require to control your senses forcibly, don’t see, don’t do it, don’t do it. No. You have to change the engagement, the status. That will help you. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.62-72 – Los Angeles, December 19, 1968

Meet Norman. He met Prabhupada shortly after arrival in NYC September 1965. (3 min video)
A devotee who is a taxi driver in New York recently picked a person who after seeing Srila Prabhupada’s photo in the car he recalled his meeting with him 5…

Devotees to Hold First Kirtan in Antarctica. Two intrepid devotee explorers are set to travel to the last frontier, and bring kirtan and Srila Prabhupadas books to Antarctica the southernmost and coldest continent in the world.
The continent is large…

HH.Jayapataka Swami meets HH. Sri Sri Vishwesha Tirtha Swami. (Album with photos)
In his recent visit to Udupi, Jayapataka Swami met with Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of the Pejawara Adhokshaja Mutt. Sri Vishwesha Tirtharu is the current Svamiji of the Pejavara Adokshaja Matha, founded by Sri Madhvacharya. Born in 1931, Sri Vishwesha Swami took Sanyas at a very young of 8.
The Krishna deity in Udupi was personally worshiped by Lord Krishna’s queens. Vishwesha Swami is now under a two year term, during which he worships Udupi Krishna.In the two year term, he will not be leaving the temple premises.
Both Vishwesha Swami and Jayapataka Swami were delighted to see each other.In an affectionate manner,Vishwesha Swami expressed that he if not for his vow, he would come and met his old friend, Guru Maharaj.They both share a relationship that goes back over 20 years.Guru Maharaj had hosted Vishwesha Swami at Sri Dham Mayapur about 20 years ago. The two were recollecting those wonderful days.Guru Maharaj had hosted the Swami at Mayapur about 20 years ago and now he was reciprocating to the Swami’s visit.
Its’s rather special that Guru Maharaj suggested that they celebrate Gaura Purnima at the Udupi Math, for which Viswesha Swami readily agreed.
The Swami said , Jayapataka Swami means Victory and he will bring victory where ever he goes and that he has and will continue to sow the seed of Krishna Bhakti.
Sitting with Guru Maharaj before the Diety of Sri Vyasa-Tirtha in the Udupi temple complex, Vishwesha Swami said that since both the Swamis belong to the same sampradaya, it was like meeting a dear brother! Before taking leave, Swami made strong petition to Udupi Krishna , requesting him to improve Guru Maharaj’s health and prayed that Guru Maharaj be in good health for a long time and preach Krishna consciousness all over the world.
A team of devotees from Bangalore headed by HG Varada Krishna Prabhu along with local devotees from Manipal, Udupi and Mangalore facilitated the entire program.
Photos by Mahavaraha Das
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hAbQOf

Srila Prabhupada’s books in Chinese (Album with photos)
And here are the latest blissful photos of Chinese book distribution to university students and tourists from mainland China. In this case, all of them insisted on getting an assortment English books after being delighted, and even shocked, to receive books in their own language!
** Make this bliss happen every single day at the universities and tourist spots in your own area! It’s not only easy and ecstatic to do, but it increases your local language book sales at the same time! Leave a message or write us at info@bbtfeme.com for step-by-step details… **
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tJcllN

Good morning Vrindavana! (Album with photos)
Vrindavana wakes up. The time of sunrise in Vrindavana is an amazing experience, d…Read More…

By Krishna Prema dasa

Gita Nagari Baru (GNB) is a village where one hundred and fifty devotees live. GNB has six cows and one bull. They are Surabhi, Candani, Godavari, Kaveri, Gauri, Subhadra, and Ram. We have started to make a replica of Vrindavan forests since 2014. Our goal is to make our village like Vrindavan village, and it will help the devotees to remember Krishna’s lilas more easily. Since we opened this forest, we always gather together once a month to do Go-Puja. Some of our cows will be there for grazing every day.

By Visvadhika dasi On the very auspicious 8th day of the bright fortnight of Kartika, Mayapur Goshala celebrated Gopashtami. It was a jubilant day celebrated by residents of Mayapur, devotees and guests from many different regions of India and from all…

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The Eternal Residents of Vrndavan

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 10 October 2015, Sydney, Australia, Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 20.339) Question: I have not done anything for Krsna. Why would he care about me? Long before… what happened is this… One day, you were in a street and you did not remember your name. You stood there, looking and you did not know your name […]

Srimati Radha Padma Devi Dasi is giving an amazing, for her age, class during Kartika (8 min video)
Bhagavad Gita as it is, Ch…Read More…

https://flic.kr/s/aHskGUBaSk

The post Gopastami 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

On November 7th, US Ambassador to India, Mr. Richard Verma, visited Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi temple in Delhi. After offering pushpanjali to Srila Prabhupada and an arati to Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Partha-sarati, he was taken on …

Vaishnava Marriage Counselors Give First Seminars in Russia.
Vaishnava marriage counselors Partha Das and Uttama Dasi were recently invited, under the recommendation of GBC Bhakti Vijnana Swami, to offer marital and premarital education to devotees in Moscow, Russia, for the first time.

The effort was an important service to the vast and fast-growing 10,000 member ISKCON Moscow community, who were grateful to learn practical advice and new paradigms.

Initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1973, husband and wife Partha and Uttama have an incredible amount of experience and wisdom between them. They’ve been happily married for forty-five years, have premarital education training certified by Prepare and Enrich, and have offered that education with the Grihasta Vision Team – a group of professional devotee counselors – for the past decade.

Kirtan @ Dallas City Council meeting – Janmastami Eve 8/24/2016 (5 min video)
Nityananda Chandra das: The mayor gave a stellar …Read More…

Poet, singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen has passed away at 82. Mr. Cohen visited the Festival of India in Montreal in 2006. Viswambhara das wrote:
“On the occasion of this year’s Rathayatra festival in Montreal however, this tender and gentle man of considerable fame and influence seemed content and at ease as he wandered through the various exhibits and activities organized in the framework of the Festival of India. Later, he sat discreetly with friends on the grass at some distance from the tent where Lord Jagannatha, Balarama and Lady Subhadra were being worshiped.
In person, Mr. Cohen proved to be a modest, unassuming man, unimpressed with his own fame, and a respectful listener. In conversation he proved to have a sharp inquisitive mind. After the usual introductions, Mr. Cohen seemed eager to state with evident pride that he had met His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada in 1967, in New York’s lower East Side (a search of the Vedabase Folio yielded no record of this encounter and one cannot help but wonder what transpired at the time). He further said he has been practicing Zen Buddhism for the past thirty years and that he often goes to Mumbai, to hear from a certain advaitist guru of some reputation. He also seemed proud to say that he also regularly reads Bhagavad-gita. By good fortune, a devotee timely and discreetly came to offer him a copy of Srila Prabhupada’s original Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. He accepted the book with respect, inspected it briefly and showed it to the man and woman who accompanied him. Surprisingly, the gentleman friend said that the cover illustration of Bhagavad-gita As It Is has been gracing his refrigerator door for more than twenty years. He promised to dig out his copy of the book from his library shelves and read it.
Mr. Cohen expressed appreciation for the work that ISKCON is doing for the people in general by the distribution of song, music and food. He seemed particularly impressed that a new generation of young devotees seemed ready and enthusiastic to take to Krishna consciousness seriously.”
In the film, “I’m Your Man,” a documentary about his life and music, Leonard Cohen said the following:
“There is a beautiful moment in the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna. The general. The great general. He’s standing in his chariot. And all the chariots are readied for war. And across the valley, he sees his opponents. And there he sees not just uncles and aunts and cousins, he sees gurus, he sees teachers that have taught him; and you know how the Indians revere that relationship. He sees them. And Krishna, one of the expressions of the deity, says to him, ‘You’ll never untangle the circumstances that brought you to this moment. You’re a warrior. Arise now, mighty warrior. With the full understanding, that they’ve already been killed, and so have you. This is just a play. This is my will. You’re caught up in the circumstances that I determine for you. That you did not determine for yourself. So, arise, you’re a noble warrior. Embrace your destiny, your fate, and stand up and do your duty.’”
May Krishna please bless Mr. Cohen with further progress in devotional service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrlNILWslc0
( I was there when Leonard came to the RY. I was sitting with Laksminatha and Visvambara. VIsvambara noticed it was Leonard Cohen and said “ I’m going to give him a Bhagavad Gita ” and he got up and got one and gave it to him. Leonard was with his daughter ~ Gaura das )
Thank you to Padmapani prabhu for passing this on to us.
Recently, Leonard Cohen was profiled by the editor of The New Yorker. He is quoted about halfway through the article:

“I participated in all these investigations that engaged the imagination of my generation at that time,” Cohen has said. “I even danced and sang with the Hare Krishnas — no robe, I didn’t join them, but I was trying everything.” (https://goo.gl/htj21r)

On the most auspicious occasion of Gopastami, ISKCON Kanpur held ca large event with many awareness programs about cow protection, also launching Sri Surabhi campaign and seminars for farmers. The event was graced by the presence of two of th…

By Krishna-kripa das

I share wisdom from the books and letters of Srila Prabhupada. I include excerpts from Satsvarupa dasa Goswami’s Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name and Vaishnava Compassion, as well as his online journal. I share inspiration from a lecture by Bhakti Charu Swami. I share notes on a class by Yogesvara Prabhu on Bhagavad-gita. I include some realizations from Ramabhadra Prabhu, president of Radha Govinda Mandir. I also share notes on the morning classes at The Bhakti Center given by Adi Purusha, Shyamananda, Karuna Gauranga, Vasudeva, Murali Gopal, Natabara Gauranga, and Mahosaha Prabhus, and also by Bhakta Josh and myself. “Do not let even one minute go by without doing some sort of service for Krishna. Because as soon as there is a little gap of Krishna Consciousness, immediately maya makes an attack to grab us again. So keep up with your … engagements and always think of Krishna so that maya will not have a second’s opportunity to try to conquer you. And Krishna gives all assurance that the sincere devotee will never know defeat.”

Janananda Goswami led a chanting party from 26 Second Avenue to Tompkins Square Park and around the celebrated Hare Krishna tree to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first public chanting of Hare Krishna there by Srila Prabhupada and h…

H.G. Jaga Jivan Prabhu served the ISKCON institution and Srila Prabhupada for 45 + years! At the age of 67 he left his body on 10th …Read More…