Author Archives: Admin108

Lord Kåñëa said to Arjuna, ‘O Arjuna! Listen attentively. When the living entity chants My name, whether out of devotion or indifference, I never forget this act. It remains always close to My heart. There is now vow like chanting the holy name, no knowledge superior to It, no meditation which comes anywhere near it, and it gives the highest result. No penance is equal to it, and nothing is as potent or powerful as the holy name. Read more ›

Why do I give on a regular basis? It is something within my reach. You know that section in Bhagavad-gita where Krishna is instructing Arjuna, and He basically says, “If you can’t do that, do this…”? Top on the list would be to be a lover of God, and act always being inspired by that love.

When I first took up the process of Krishna consciousness (true to the description of a neophyte), I thought I had attained that lofty state. But gradually, as the covering gets removed from my eyes, I see that I’m actually quite far from the ultimate goal. So if you can’t do that, then what? Then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. . . sounds good. I do my best to keep the promises I made at initiation. But if that includes rising early and coming to mangala-arati, chanting with rapt attention and hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam class faithfully every day, well, let’s just say I could improve in many areas. At this point, I’m in the wannabe category for perfect following. Read more ›

Mukhya devi dasi: Last Saturday evening the Hindu Cultural Association of Ocala put on a fundraising dinner at their Cultural Center to benefit the Goshala at New Raman Reti. The evening was completely planned, marketed and produced by the management team of this association. It included entertainment, dinner, and a few introductions to the importance of cow protection. Sakshigopal das, Akuti devi dasi, Sukhada devi dasi and Mukhya devi dasi represented the Temple’s cow protection program during the event. Every penny collected on the $20 ticket price, plus extra donations, went to help build the new Goshala. We were able to connect with many people who have never even been to our temple but feel deeply about the importance of cow protection and appreciated that we were attempting to do something in a place that is wholly oblivious to the disastrous effects on every level of cow slaughter. I was very moved and impressed by their natural cultural understanding that everything comes to us from Krishna, it is all His, actually, and giving back is a part of life that is as important as anything else one holds dear. Most of the group understand from birth that cow protection is their duty and their dharma. They thanked us for giving them the chance to fulfill this duty by having a program that nurtures and honors the sacred cow. Read more ›

The following rare old photographs show how Tirupati and Tirumala looked before the temple became famous. You can see that in those days it was a peaceful place without huge queues and crowds. Today over 40 million people visit the temple each year, and you can expect to wait up to 5 hours in the queue before having darshana of the main Balaji deity for a few moments.

In ancient literature, Tirupati is mentioned as Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas associate the area with Lord Varaha, one of the Dashavataras of Lord Vishnu. Venkatadri is believed to be a part of Mount Meru, which was brought to the earth from Vishnu’s abode of Vaikunta by his mount Garuda. The seven peaks represent the seven heads of Adisesha. Tirumala is also one of the 108 divya desams. Read more ›

“Chanting is the greatest act of piety and the supreme refuge. Even the words of the Vedas do not possess sufficient power to its magnitude. Chanting is the highest path to liberation, peace and eternal life. It is the pinnacle of devotion, the heart’s joyous proclivity and attraction and the best form of remembrance of the Supreme Lord. The holy name has appeared solely for the benefit of the living entities as their Lord and master, their supreme worshipable object and their spiritual guide and mentor. Read more ›

Atlanta’s Hare Krishna devotees celebrated Rathayatra and Panihati Festival with dance, live music, traditional vegetarian fare and chanting in the streets of Little Five Points. Devotee: Prabhupāda, can you explain a little more about Ratha-yātrā? Anyone who takes part in Ratha-yātrā, are they liberated?

Prabhupāda: Certainly.

Devotee: Does that mean they will not take birth again?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes, provided they take it seriously. Otherwise, if they keep their mentality differently, then according to mind, one has to get a body. But… Just like so many boys. They come here in the beginning out of curiosity, but gradually, they get the chance of becoming devotee. Similarly, if they take the chance, then they will be liberated. They come out of curiosity, but if they take it seriously, then they will be liberated. Just like hospital is meant for curing disease. So one should take the treatment. If he simply goes and visits the hospital and thinks “Now I am cured,” how it can be done? Hospital is a… Suppose if I advertise that “Anyone who comes to this hospital, he will be cured of his disease,” that’s a fact. But if he thinks that “I have come here. Now I am going,” then how he will be cured? To see Jagannātha on the Ratha-yātrā, his way for liberation is open, but if he comes back again and entangles himself, then? One goes to the doctor. He gives injection. The disease is cured. But again he comes back and does the same thing so that he develops this disease again. So whose fault it is? This is called hasti-snāna. Hasti-snāna. The elephant takes bath very nicely, and as soon as comes on the bank of the river or the lake, he takes dust and throws it over body again. If we do that, then we shall remains always dirty. You go, take bath, cleanse, but don’t take dirt again. That is not going on. They become immediately mukta, liberated, but they come, again becomes entangled. If it is a fact seeing Jagannātha is mukta, that’s all… He becomes mukta. But if he again comes to māyā, then who can check him? Just like you are all on the path of liberation, but if you again come back to māyā, then where is your liberation? Why Jagannātha in the ratha here? If somebody comes here and sees his path for liberation is open… Now he should protect himself. Just like disease, fever is subsided. Now one should be careful not to relapse the fever. Read more ›

Srila Prabhupada: What was possible for Dhruva Maharaja is possible for anyone. Any five-year-old child can be trained, and within a very short time his life will become successful by realization of Krsna consciousness. Unfortunately, this training is lacking all over the world. It is necessary for the leaders of the Krsna consciousness movement to start educational institutions in different parts of the world to train children, starting at the age of five years. Thus such children will not become hippies or spoiled children of society; rather, they can all become devotees of the Lord. The face of the world will then change automatically. Read more ›

O Supreme Personality of Godhead, when someone desires to chant Your holy name, sins tremble in fear, the glory of material illusion faints unconscious, Yamaräja’s scribe Citragupta becomes happy and gazes at the chanter’s toenails with awe and reverence, and Lord Brahmä prepares madhu-parka with which to worship him. O Lord, what more can we say than this?—author unknown (Padyavali 4) Read more ›

Marriage is one of the most important step in one’s life. It marks the beginning of the new phase of life called Grihasta transitioning from Brahmacharya. Hare Krishna couples know from the start that their life together has a spiritual purpose. Devotee families have their own unique offering to make to Krishna. Theirs is not an inferior brand of spirituality. Nor is marital happiness something shameful, as was often believed in the medieval ages of Christianity. God does not envy our enjoyment. But if we want our happiness to last, it has to be built on the principle of serving Krishna’s enjoyment, because we are all His servants and cannot have lasting enjoyment by acting against our nature. Read more ›

Radha Govind Goshala is a happy home for more than 150 cows and bulls. Go-seva is most dear to Lord Krishna, who Himself served the cows in His Vraja pastimes. Go Seva also assures one highest spiritual benefit as glorified by sastras. Read more ›

The holy name of Lord Krishna is a reservoir of all transcendental happiness. It destroys the sins of the Kali-yuga. It is the most purifying of all purifying things. It is the saintly person’s food as he traverses the path to the spiritual world. It is the pleasure garden where the voices of the greatest saints, philosophers, and poets play. It is the life of the righteous and the seed of the tree of religion. May that holy name of Lord Krishna bring transcendental auspiciousness to you all.—author unknown (Padyavali 3) Read more ›

Charles Alban: Here’s A Remarkable Thing I’d Never Heard Of. It’s A Shell Grotto In Margate, A Coastal Town In The County Of Kent.

According To Pn Oak, All These Are Sanskrit Words…kent Comes From Cainthi, A Coast, Margate Is Sanskrit.

This Is A Very High Level Of Workmanship And Is Pre-christian. Could This Be Vedic Symbolism? May Be A Vishnu Temple? Read more ›

Dear Devotees,

Pamho, AGTSP

There is a growing movement against factory farming and the destruction of the environment.
It seems that the “materialists or karmis” are waking up and exceeding some of our, efforts, however we cannot discount the powerful subtle effects that Srila Prabhupada and the International Society of Krishna Consciousness has had on the world psyche and that it is creating an incredible paradigm shift. Unfortunately India is choosing to follow the wrong path. Read more ›

Hare Krishna. The Temple President said NO. You make her strong and keep her here forever. Srila Prabhuapada said “whenever a Cow comes under our protection he or she can never be given up at any cost” Jaya Srila Prabhupada. I was saved. I was saved and living in the Temple. I get Prasad, I hear the holy name and one devotee from AFFCAPcomes over here every day and gives me a good scratch with his brush. He gave me an eartag so that I can never get lost again. I think he is in charge of AFFCAPand I hear of the wonderful work they are doing. Counting cows, to make sure that no one else in an AFFCAPGoshalla gets pushed out the gate or sold to some so called nice farmer. Read more ›

The ‘Bhagavad-gita As It Is Essay Competition’ is a non-sectarian initiative to enable students to delve into an ancient eastern philosophy that has answers to today’s problems of the environment, ecology and the human condition. It is open to all tertiary level students (part- or full-time) at Australian universities and TAFEs nationwide.

There is an entrance fee of $35 via PayPal. Upon entry, a hard copy of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada will be sent to the applicant’s postal address, as well as access to an electronic version of the book and a set of introductory materials to help explain and give context. Read more ›

‘Witness to a Temple’ by Mādri devī dāsī is an Auckland ISKCON history (1972-2004) filled with memories and stories of the early days in New Zealand including the three visits of Śrīla Prabhupāda to Auckland.

In the second half of the book we follow the pioneer devotees as they undergo hardships and austerities in developing a spiritual community at New Varshan while at the same time building a glorious temple for their beloved Deities Śrī Śrī Rādhā Giridhārī. Read more ›

Parasuram das: Two Kirtan movies from London, 7th June. Kirtan in London is going strong, on this occasion we split our group into two, one went for a carnival, and one for a Rathayatra, and then we met up for the evening Kirtan. Read more ›

Two days ago, here in Mayapur, we had a beautiful festival in honor of Mother Ganga. Hundreds of devotees gathered at our Prabhupada Ghat to worship and take bath in Her holy waters. There was melodious kirtan permeating the atmosphere while they made the arrangements for the program. HG Jananivas Prabhu gave a wonderful class on the glories of Mother Ganga. Following the lecture, a grand arati was performed for Ganga, the worship was headed by HG Badra Charu Prabhu.

Devotees then distributed small leaf plates containing flowers, incense, and a dipa, so they could also perform there own worship. A program is not complete unless there is prasadam distribution, following this culture, we distributed some small bowls of prasadam to all the devotees present.

Everyone was very pleased, as was Mother Ganga.

Srimati Ganga Mayi Ki Jaya Read more ›

Hare Krishna Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Here is a video of a recent Harinama we did in Washington D.C. which attracted a group of young men to participate in their own way. It seems entertaining and I thought it can be shared on Dandavats.

Your servant,
Sankarsana das Read more ›

Suddenly in the middle of the night kirtan èkadašnogo mother Ganga decided to come in our basement. Pudžarskuû was flooded by rain water, a kitchen and a part of the altar. The water was ankle-deep. Devotees joked that this is because of the dry fasting-so wanted to drink that water itself came to the vaishnavas. Despite the fact that the river water poured, kirtan continued))) Read more ›

With Romapada Swami Read more ›

Kavicandra Swami: Sudama Das and Ujjvala Gopi dasi have turned their Tokyo ground floor into a Temple cooking classroom: “Cooking classes are going on regularly. All are Japanese. Few are very much interested in Indian cooking and they became good friends also. They like to buy cooking related books.
I am sharing some photos.
Please bless us so that we can distribute more Prasadam and books.
Ujjvala Gopi devi dasi”
Read more ›

Shanti Keshavi Devi Dasi: I think more than anything, I was very humbled this weekend. Seeing the devotees who did non-stop service all weekend long (and prior to the festival) makes me pray that…someday…I can have that service attitude. You all have my utmost respect and admiration. I am truly your worthless servant. Read more ›

With Giriraja Swami, Radhanatha Swami, Indraduymna Swami, Hridayananda Swami, Jayadvaita Swami, Rtadhvaja Swami, Anuttama prabhu, Deena Bandhu prabhu and many other senior vaishnavas and vaishnavis! “Glory to the Sri Krsna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.”
Siksastaka Read more ›

05/21/14 Iskcon Miami Read more ›

Every chance to gather the vaishnavas and perform the congregational chanting of the Holy Names is the highest victory, the biggest benefit! Read more ›

Indradyumna Swami: Belarus is a landlocked country in eastern Europe, bordered in part by Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Once part of the Soviet Union, it continues with a number of soviet era policies, such as state owned ownership of large sectors of the economy and a restricted press. ISKCON, although registered and with a nice temple in the capitol Minsk, is not allowed to openly proselytize. Harinam and book distribution are forbidden. Despite these limitations we found the people of Belarus to be friendly, accommodating and receptive to Krsna consciousness. In fact, there are over 1,500 devotees in Belarus, with a population of just over 9 million people. Please everyone give these devotees your blessings to continue spreading Lord Caitanya’s message as best they can under the circumstances. Read more ›

“O King, for devotees who hold a festival in glorification of the Lord, the Lord holds a festival for them at the very same moment in Goloka Vrindavan.”

[ Padma Purana, quoted in Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhi 1.2.220 ]

yah karoti mahipala

harer gehe mahotsavam

tasyapi bhavati nitya

hari loke mahotsava Read more ›

With Bhaktivikasa Swami Read more ›

With Dayanidhi prabhu, Jagadisha prabhu, Vrikodhara prabhu and all the blissful vaishnavas of Tel Aviv Iskcon yatra. Read more ›

Iskcon vrindavan Read more ›

A glimpse of Lord Jagannath on the chariot is considered to be very auspicious and saints. The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled, is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages. This event will allow people to have glimpse of mystic India, illustrating the festival in full glory. Rathyatra is a great festival because of its ability to unite people in its festivity.
The Rathyatra festival has become common in most major cities of the world. It has been regularly organized in various cities of England (London, Crawley, Birmingham, Liecester, Cardiff). This is for the 4th time it is being organized by “Bath Hindu Community” in Bath on 7th June, 2014. Read more ›

By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion. SB 11.2.40 Read more ›

With Radhanath Swami. Read more ›

Coming from the New Govardhan farm, Lord Jagannath’s chariot pulled down Elizabeth, Creek and Adelaide Streets. Accompanied by sweet kirtan lead by Sri Prahlad Prabhu, we sung and danced our way to the colourful festival at King George Square. Kirtan, drama, boutiques, kids craft activities, face painting and delicious prasadam cooked by Garuda Prabhu were just some of the attractions enjoyed by all. We had the fortune to have the sanga of HH Vedavyasa Priya Swami, HH Ramai Swami and HH Mukunda Gosvami who graced us with their presence.

The last Ratha Yatra in the Brisbane CBD was fifteen years ago when the Rath cart was entered as a float in the Warana Parade. However, this June was the first time that the city council closed down some of the main streets in the city just for Lord Jagannath. Read more ›

Geneve, Switzerland Read more ›

We are excited to report that, thanks to your contributions, we will be serving evening meals to the widows of Radha Kunda for at least the next couple of months! During these months, we hope to find a few more generous Radha Kunda Bhaktas to join the endeavor so that it can continue long term. Thank you to those who have given already!

Please visit http://radharani.com/evening-meals-for-widows/ to contribute to this cause.

The daily cleaning seva continues despite the oppressive heat. We are seeking permission to start the previously described (see the April album) renovations and gardening at Sakhi Kunda.

Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com. Thank you for your support! Your servants, Mayapurcandra dasa and Campakalata Devi dasi. Read more ›

Radhavallabha Das with Bhaktin Hezell. The wife of King Puraïjana was lying on the ground because she was neglected by her husband. Actually the woman must always be protected by her husband. We always speak of the goddess of fortune as being placed on the chest of Narayana. In other words, the wife must remain embraced by her husband. Thus she becomes beloved and well protected. Just as one saves his money and places it under his own personal protection, one should similarly protect his wife by his own personal supervision. Just as intelligence is always within the heart, so a beloved chaste wife should always have her place on the chest of a good husband. This is the proper relationship between husband and wife. A wife is therefore called ardhangani, or half of the body. One cannot remain with only one leg, one hand or only one side of the body. He must have two sides. Similarly, according to nature’s way, husband and wife should live together.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.26.17 Purport Read more ›

With Sivarama Swami Read more ›

Halava, the semolina and fruit dessert served with Krishna Lunch, comes in an array of flavors limited only by the chefs’ imaginations. Past flavors have included pineapple upside-down cake, pumpkin pie and banana split.

Krishna Lunch volunteers have served up to 1,200 people in a single day. That’s a lot of halava — 35 gallons, to be exact. Preparation of the meal begins at 5 a.m. Read more ›