Monthly Archives: April 2018

The Dearmost Wife of the Supreme Lord Ramacandra
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By Iskcon Mayapur It is impossible for a materialistic person like Ravana to touch Srimati Sitadevi, just as it is impossible for anyone within the material world to enjoy the energy of the Lord no matter how they try to exploit it for their own pleasu…

ISKCON Scarborough – Grand Appearance day celebrations of Lord Narasimhadev – Sunday- April 29th 2018
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Hare Krishna!
Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

Narasimha Caturdasi is the celebration of the appearance day of Lord Narasimhadev, a direct incarnation of the Lord in His half-man, half-lion form. Lord Narasimhadev appeared to protect his dear most devotee, Prahlada Maharaja, whose demonic father, Hiranyakasipu was a powerful atheist and enemy of the Lord.

Lord Narasimhadev is Krishna Himself, appearing especially in this form to reciprocate with our desire to remove all the obstacles in our devotional service.

Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.8: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambudvipa“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Narasimhadev, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demon like desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world”.

The actual Narasimha Caturdasi falls on 28th April 2018 (Saturday) and on this day, devotees fast until dusk.

We at ISKCON Scarborough will celebrate the Narasimha Caturdasi in a grand manner on 29th April 2018 (Sunday)

The schedule for 29th April 2018 (Sunday) is as follows:
10.15 am – Tulasi Arti
10.30 am – Guru Puja
10.45 am to 11.15 am – Swati Natchatra Abhishek
11.15 am to 12.15 pm – Class on the divine appearance & pastimes of Lord Narasimhadev
12.15 pm to 12.45 pm – Arti & Kirtan
12.45 pm – One round of group chanting
1 pm – Free vegetarian feast

Benedictions for hearing Lord Narasimhadev’s pastimes: Narada Muni to Maharaj Yudhisthira
Srimad Bhagavatam 7.10.46:

One who hears and chants this narration (Lord Narasimhadev’s pastimes) about the omnipotence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, is certainly liberated from material bondage without fail.


Srimad Bhagavatam 7.10.47:

Anyone who with great attention hears this narration concerning the activities of Prahlada Maharaja, the killing of Hiranyakasipu, and the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narasimhadeva, surely reaches the spiritual world, where there is no anxiety.

We humbly welcome you, your family, friends, and relatives to ISKCON Scarborough to take part in the celebrations and partake the unlimited blessings of Lord Narasimhadev

With best wishes from,

ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough, Ontario,
Canada, M1V4C7

Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

website:
www.iskconscarborough.org

Healing the earth by healing the heart
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[Earth Day Talk at Lotus Meditation Center, Denver, USA]
Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/04-18%20classes/Healing%20the%20earth%20by%20healing%20the%20heart.mp3

 
Podcast Summary
http://ww…

God as the supreme therapist 1 – Discerning the Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu mentalities within us
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[Narasimha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers to Narasimha 5.18.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on Bhagavatam 5.18.8 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/04-18%20classes/God%20as%20the%20supreme%20therapist%201%20-%20Discerning%20the%20Prahlada%20and%20Hiranyakashipu%20mentalities%20within%20us.mp3

 

Podcast Summary

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/04-18%20classes/Summary%20-%20God%20as%20the%20supreme%20therapist%201%20-%20Discerning%20the%20Prahlada%20and%20Hiranyakashipu%20mentalities%20within%20us.mp3

 

Video:

The post God as the supreme therapist 1 – Discerning the Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu mentalities within us appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

How can we avoid labelling and judging others?
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/03-18%20QA/How%20can%20we%20avoid%20labelling%20and%20judging%20others.mp3

The post How can we avoid labelling and judging others? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

When different people consider different courses of action as right, how to reconcile?
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/03-18%20QA/When%20different%20people%20consider%20different%20courses%20of%20action%20as%20right%2C%20how%20to%20reconcile.mp3

The post When different people consider differe…

The essence of the process that we are following in this movement is the chanting of the holy name
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Kadamba Kanana Swami: The essence of the process that we are following in this movement is the chanting of the holy name. This process is the yuga dharma – the dharma (religion) for this age of Kali. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has made this chanting…

Special mercy
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 December 2017, Govinda Valley, Australia, Initiation Lecture) The essence of the process that we are following in this movement is the chanting of the holy name. This process is the yuga dharma – the dharma (religion) for this age of Kali. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has made this chanting of the holy […]

The article ” Special mercy ” was published on KKSBlog.

Mother Arca-vigraha’s Disappearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today, Jahnu Saptami, is the disappearance anniversary of Arca-vigraha dasi, a renowned artist from South Africa who left her cancer-ridden body in Vrindavan twenty-four years ago. Her desire that other devotees also have a proper facility to spend their last days in the beautiful spiritual atmosphere of the holy dhama inspired the creation of the […]

Srimad Bhagavatam Class by Drutakarma Prabhu in Los Angeles,…
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Srimad Bhagavatam Class by Drutakarma Prabhu in Los Angeles, 4-20-2018 (video)
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THE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR WORLD!!! (1 min video) By Sivarama Swami
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THE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR WORLD!!! (1 min video)
Sivarama Swami: A threat bigger than Nuclear weapons and Terrorists … a threat WE need to be conscious of!
Read More…

Initiation Ceremony, April 15, San Diego
Giriraj Swami

During a blisful initiation ceremony in the San Diego Temple, Giriraj Swami performed the initiations of Bhakta Will Southall who received the name Vaisnava dasa, Bhaktin Usha Madan who received the name Urjesvari dasi, and Bhaktin Farida Sharafutdinova who received the name Saraswati Devi dasi.   ———————————————————————————————— ———————————- Kirtan (Right-click to download) Initiation talk and […]

To Whom Does this Earth Belong?
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In Canto Twelve of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhumi, Mother Earth, says this: “Although in the past great men and their descendants have left me, departing from this world in the same helpless way they came into it, even today foolish men are trying to…

Unconditional love
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Unconditional love.
BB Govinda Swami: We should be prepared to open ourselves up. We should be prepared to take down our guards. We should be prepared to dismantle our protective fences that we have around us. And we should say:
“I’m read…

Beautiful Jayananda!
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Vishoka Dasa: Jayananda would often show a playful mood. He wasn’t just all work and no play. He would often say things and do things that reminded us that service to Krishna was fun and spontaneous, and just as Krishna has an amazing sense of …

Thursday, April 19th, 2018
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Toronto, Ontario
Become Light

Every morning is relishable for me—when not experiencing jet lag—as it begins with a mangal arati, a service involving chant and dance. It is at a surprising hour of 4:30 a.m.. Surprising—only for those who haven’t experienced that magical hour in a state of wakefulness.

Another special time this last week was just sitting down to hear a different speaker, each morning, delivering a class with discussion from the 10thCanto of the book Bhagavatam.  The topic involves the activities of the Divine Most High.  

What is God saying to souls who are pure?

What is that conversation all about?

To make the day even lighter, I opened my file cabinet—I’m on drawer Number 2—and pulled out irrelevant, dated material.  This is called ‘spring cleaning’.  It is like karmabeing lifted.  The sensation is great.

Finally, for the last few days I’ve gone out on that evening walk.  Tonight Tom accompanied me down Yonge Street.  I pointed out to him the corner of Yonge and Bloor, where forty-five years ago I was stopping people to get their attention and show them the Bhagavad-gita.  If they showed interest they would purchase and I would be thrown into ecstasy.

We walked further south to the corner of the iconic place of “Sam the Record Man.” In the sixties just everyone had to go to Sam’s.  I used to meet Sam, a prominent Jewish business fellow.  He was nice to me and would give a smile.

Nostalgia can also make you light (lit) when the memories are sweet.

What you do now will be nostalgia for tomorrow.

May the Source be with you!

4 km


Wednesday, April 18th, 2018
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Toronto, Ontario
Choices of Trails

Before we go for that afternoon stroll we decide the route to take.  We have the options: a busy retail strip, a quiet residential area or a trail/path in the woods.  It’s one of those very important decisions in life, isn’t it?  Well, not really.  Where you go is not paramount but what is, is the fact that you go.

Guru Prasad, Tom and I were determined to go along the quiet streets of Rosedale, a neighbourhood of fine Victorian homes.  Thank God there is never a rush hour to deal with in this neighbourhood. There is no major thoroughfare. It is an enclave of winding roads, very conducive to a leisurely walk.

And that it was.  Also, the air was fresh and clean, a blessing after the freak storm.  The three of us were happy about the choice made for our walking venue.  There was shanti(peace).

The other day, at the Yoga Show, a fellow asked me something about choice in the realm of yoga.  He first asked what form of yoga I practise and teach.

“Bhakti yoga,” I said.

“Is that like raja yoga, dhyana yoga, astanga, etc…?  Aren’t they all different paths?”

When he asked that question I tried to clarify.

“These various paths are all on the same track, one leads to another and they culminate into bhakti yoga.  But if you can take a more direct trail then you can avoid taking all these trails that wind around and eventually loop back to the original, direct route.”

“Bhakti means devotion.  It is very beautiful.”

May the Source be with you!

4 km


Tuesday, April 17th, 2018
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Toronto, Ontario
In Awe    

Well, we walked by a gallery window

And what did we see

A painting of a bison

My mind was full of glee

I was transported to Alberta

Where a herd was close to me

Twas the walk of ‘96

Sacred herd, oh so free

I lie down in their grasses

Tired from the road

They gawked at me so curious

Right there in their abode

And I gave a good stare at them

Inquisitive as hell

The feeling was so mutual

We looked, as in a spell

The herd was awful big, my friend

And they stood there oh so still

Until I made a jerk, and then

The alpha feared, “Don’t kill!”

They followed him in awesome haste

Shaking earth with hooves

The dust stirred up so high, oh yes

They vanished by the hill of blues.

© Bhaktimarga Swami 2018 

May the Source be with you!

5 km 


Preaching in North Florida, Albany, Philadelphia, DC, NYC. By…
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Preaching in North Florida, Albany, Philadelphia, DC, NYC.
By Krishna-kripa das.
One should not be envious of those less advanced but should be compassionate toward them.
Serving is the best way to counteract envy.
Forgetting the source of our qualities and achievements causes us to be proud.
Our envy of others derives from our envy of Krishna, and that can be removed by service.
If we are not compassionate to those who do not have Krishna consciousness and give them the opportunity then we are acting enviously of them.
Sometimes on book distribution we want to benefit the people but they deal with us in such a way we give up on them, and we find our compassion has a limit, but if we were completely not envious that would not be.
Bhakti Tirtha Swami said that if you are not envious you will go beneath someone and push them up, not considering advancing your own position.

Helping someone comes from appreciating their value not from thinking we are superior and have something to give.

Glorifying those we are envious of counteracts the envy, but it is hard to do.

The Christian saint Theresa describes the most elevated persons see themselves as least qualified just as we understand from our tradition the maha-bhagavata, highest devotee, does.

Someone may have done so many things, but they are all insignificant compared to Krishna’s mercy.

It is not that we just offer respect to the Supersoul in others and neglect the souls themselves.

If I am superior and I am happy about it, or if I am inferior and I am unhappy about it, it is really the same thing.

Every soul has the potential to please Krishna eternally, so how valuable they are! Thus I should serve them.

We are not just receiving from superiors, but we receiving in all our relationships.

Relationships that are give, give, give, or take, take, take, are imbalanced.

When you are envious of someone you are distant from them, but when you serve them you start developing affection for them, and then they start developing affection for you.

Attention is the beginning of love.

Although Srila Prabhupada hated Mayavadis, when Dr. Mishra was sick, Srila Prabhupada cooked for him, and Dr. Mishra said that Swamiji had saved him by his love.
To read the entire article click here: https://krishnamonk.blogspot.it/2018/04/travel-journal147-north-florida-albany.html

Amidst so many materialistic temptations today, how can we stay devotional?
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/03-18%20QA/Amidst%20so%20many%20materialistic%20temptations%20today%2C%20how%20can%20we%20stay%20devotional.mp3

The post Amidst so many materialistic temptations today, how c…

How can we alert others to future dangers without discouraging them?
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/03-18%20QA/How%20can%20we%20alert%20others%20to%20future%20dangers%20without%20discouraging%20them.mp3

The post How can we alert others to future dangers without discouraging…

Nectarian Stories of Srila Prabhupada – Bhaktisiddhanta Dasa
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Nectarian Stories of Srila Prabhupada – Bhaktisiddhanta Dasa (12 min video)
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“Krsna Wants to Give Us Love” by HG Mahatma Prabhu
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“Krsna Wants to Give Us Love” by HG Mahatma Prabhu – April 14, 2018 (4 min video)
Krsna likes being controlled by his devotees. So why does he not easily give bhava and prema? Actually, he wants to give it, but we must want it more than anything else. If we want anything else, then he continues to withhold this love from us.

The Time of The Sages – Interview with John Stratton Hawley
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The Time of The Sages – Interview with John Stratton Hawley
by HH Krishna Ksetra Swami (video)
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A transcendental tale of two cities (13 min video)
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A transcendental tale of two cities (13 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: A transcendental tale of two cities: Novosibirsk and Bar…Read More…

Were Internet and wifi present at the time of the Mahabharata?
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/04-18%20QA/Were%20Internet%20and%20wifi%20present%20at%20the%20time%20of%20the%20Mahabharata.mp3

The post Were Internet and wifi present at the time of the Mahabharata? appea…

Preaching in Siberia (Album of photos) Bhakti Chaitanya Swami:…
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Preaching in Siberia (Album of photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: I spent the last couple of days in Bratsk, in Siberia. It’s an obscure part of the planet, but still there are some very nice devotees there.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ERf433

Why does Krishna make it so difficult for us to come to him?
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/04-18%20QA/Why%20does%20Krishna%20make%20it%20so%20difficult%20for%20us%20to%20come%20to%20him.mp3

The post Why does Krishna make it so difficult for us to come to him? appea…

Do intellectuals find it more difficult to love Krishna?
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Answer Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2018%20QA/04-18%20QA/Do%20intellectuals%20find%20it%20more%20difficult%20to%20love%20Krishna.mp3

The post Do intellectuals find it more difficult to love Krishna? appeared first on The…

ISKCON Chittagong Successfully Conducted S.L.A.T.E Camp in Bangladesh
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For the first time, by the presence of all prominent ISKCON Leaders of Bangladesh, “Servant Leaders Applied Training and Education (SLATE)” camp are successfully completed this week.Read More…

Appreciating Radhanatha Maharaj’s contributions towards helping devotees practice bhakti sustainably
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[God-family meeting]

Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/04-18%20classes/Appreciating%20Radhanatha%20Maharaj%E2%80%99s%20contributions%20towards%20helping%20devotees%20practice%20bhakti%20sustainably.mp3

 

Podcast Summary

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2018%20classes/04-18%20classes/Summary%20-%20Appreciating%20Radhanatha%20Maharaj%E2%80%99s%20contributions%20towards%20helping%20devotees%20practice%20bhakti%20sustainably.mp3

 

Video:

The post Appreciating Radhanatha Maharaj’s contributions towards helping devotees practice bhakti sustainably appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Srila Prabhupada’s Books Officially Presented in Cuba for the First Time!
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The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust has already translated ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada’s books into 87 languages, and is distributing them all over the world. But even now, 52 years after ISKCON’s inception, new frontiers are being reached.

Why do others have power over us?
→ SivaramaSwami.com

How to ignore others opinion of us? Kumārī Devī Dāsī asks. Some people talk too fast and too forcefully Get the other person to change his approach or leave The example of Sanātana Gosvāmī and of Jaḍa Bharata Inner strength comes from Kṛṣṇa consciousness Worrying about what people think of you is material consciousness Only people […]