Author Archives: Admin108

The Advent of Pancha-tattva in Sri Mayapur Dham – living again the bliss of Their appearance! (6 min beautiful video!)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/IqwHvv

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Sunday Harinama in Vrindavan (Album with photos)
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Hare Krishna! Practice Loving Krishna
Sridhara Swami: Have you ever worked for someone who doesn’t have time for you? Krishna is the controller of everything, but He has all the time in the universe for you. And not only for you but for me too. That’s the beauty of Krishna. He is with all of us individually. Because the Krishna conscious person is regulated in his work, speech, sleep, wakefulness, and other bodily activities, he or she experiences no misery. This is practical. If someone undergoes some sort of stress, a friend might say, “Just take your mind off it; get engrossed in your work.” People do that as a kind of therapy. Here the Gita recommends we go on permanent therapy. Work for Krishna. You’ll get so absorbed that you won’t fear even death. Steadiness comes from being constantly engaged in serving guru and Krishna. In the spiritual world the gopis compete to serve Krishna. There is so much work to do for Krishna that you can be totally carried away. Love is both a verb and a noun. To feel perfect satisfaction, you have to practice loving Krishna. You have to serve Him.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4011

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Hare Krishna! Enlightenment: Brahma gayatri mantra
Urmila devi dasi: Through study of the benefits and nature of the Brahma gayatri, those of us who already have received this mantra from a bona fide guru can deepen our meditation when we chant daily at sunrise, noon, and sunset. Those of us who haven’t received the gayatri mantra can meditate thrice daily on the light of the sun as Krsna, the eye of the Lord that is actually sustaining everything. To qualify ourselves for initiation into chanting the gayatri mantra, we can have a life filled with light, with goodness. As the Vedas say: Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, which means “Do not remain in darkness, come to the light.” (lecture Bhagavad-gita 2.16 — Mexico City, February 16, 1975). Krsna in the Gita describes goodness as being symptomized by all the gates (senses) of the body are illumined by knowledge. In a practical sense, such a life means we only allow illuminating, enlightening, uplifting things to enter our senses. For example, one eats only vegetarian food offered to Krsna.Then one has a life that is filled with light.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20589

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Hare Krishna! Temple of the Vedic Planetarium United Kingdom Tour
The ToVP International team will be touring the UK from the 18th to the 30th of November 2015. Lord Nityananda foresaw the manifestation of a glorious temple in Mayapur, and now He is touring the world in order to invite others to make that manifestation a reality. You will be able to receive the moonlike benedictions of Lord Nityananda in the form of his Padukas (shoes) along with Lord Nrsimhadeva’s protection in the form of his Satari (helmet). Jananivasa Prabhu, Ambarisa Prabhu and other senior devotees are touring the world sharing the opportunity to support this signature building of ISKCON. The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (ToVP) team will be touring the UK bringing with them the mercy of Sri Mayapur Dham. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is available to all to invite Jananivas dasa (Head Pujari of ISKCON Mayapur) along with Lord Nityananda’s Padukas (shoes) and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Satari (helmet) to your home.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20586

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October 21. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Every morning, several hours before dawn, Prabhupada would rise, take his bath, chant Hare Krishna on his beads and work at his translating. While outside his closed, windowless chamber, dawn came and the city awoke. He had no stove, so daily he had to walk the seven blocks to the Riverside Drive apartment to cook. It would be late morning when he would come out on to the busy street. He would walk north on Columbus Avenue amid the steady flow of pedestrians, pausing at each intersection in the sweeping breeze from the river. Instead of the small town scenery of Butler, he passed through the rows of thirty-storey office buildings on Columbus Avenue. At street level were shoe repair shops, candy stores, laundries and continental restaurants.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#21

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Hare Krishna! On the fairness of falldown
Accepting that it is your fault that you are fallen into the cycle of birth and death is what surrender is all about. It is only by accepting this that we can sincerely accept the Lord’s help in getting ourselves delivered from this fallen state. Logically, if it is not your fault, then you are not really fallen. Just like, if you end up in prison for a crime you did not deliberately commit (maybe you were just a victim of association, but you personally did not intend harm), then you are not really a criminal, are you? But the fact is, we *are* criminals. And we can’t be reformed until we admit it wholeheartedly. Now, zeroing in on the crux of your doubt — that we fell out of krishna-lila because of some unexpected flare-up of envy, and so how can we be eternally condemned for something over which we had no control — you’ve missed the real controller, Krishna. It is a fact that I, as a tiny spirit soul, have no power to control the ebb and flow of emotional states. But Krishna, the parama-isvara (supreme controller), does.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=3271

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Hare Krishna! Srila Prabhupada and the Vaisnava Tradition of Scriptural Commentary: Serving the Words of His Predecessors
Gopiparanadhana Dasa: Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the founder and organiser of a large worldwide religious movement; that he developed it in just twelve years, all after his seventieth birthday, shows that he was not only practical, innovative and determined but also spiritually empowered. Although these are valid reasons to think highly of Srila Prabhupada, he always de-emphasised his own abilities, preferring to be judged on the more objective grounds of his bona fide allegiance to the teachings of the Vaisnava tradition he represented. He did not credit his preaching success to any special abilities of his own. As he once said, ‘I don’t claim that I am a pure devotee or perfect, but my only qualification is that I am trying to follow the instruction of the perfect.’
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With Harinama every day is a Festival in Mexico City! (Album with photos)
Sankirtana will always be appreciated because it is the special blessings of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu on the people of this fallen age of Kali.
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The Need for Daily Spiritual Nourishment
Radhanath Swami: In order for a person to do their work in this world you have to eat, otherwise you will be weak and not be able to do anything. Food is nourishment for this physical body. Emotionally, for people to be strong, they need to feel appreciated and encouraged – it gives us emotional strength to carry on. Spiritually, we also have to be strong. The food grains that give strength spiritually to maintain that sincere and devoted disposition while we are trying to do the needful in this world is our sadhana (spiritual practice). Hearing the discourses, reading from spiritual books, chanting God’s names, performing puja, these are spiritual activities and if they are done with right intent they will give us a spiritual strength that is beyond our own. Our sadhana is to access a grace, mercy beyond ourselves to empower us. Just as if we don’t eat one day and then come to eat one month later we will not last. If you want to do your work you have to eat everyday. So our spiritual nourishment is not that I will eat just once a week on Sunday, you are not going to be spiritual strong that way. Everyday, a certain time of day should be set aside to focus on our spiritual needs and that will keep our sincerity and purpose very centered. Then, even if the mind or the environment may distract us from time to time, we will have the strength to bring it back. When lust, envy, anger, pride, illusion or greed attack, if we are spiritually strong we will be able to deal with it, by taking shelter of something higher. When you are hungry for something you can digest it. If you have just eaten a nutritious meal and someone offers you a sweet, you can’t eat it as you are full, and even if you did eat it you can’t digest it properly. Hunger is required for good digestion. Similarly, in order to digest the grace of God, you have to be hungry for it. I want that sincerity in this ever changing world and mind. Because you want and need it, you can pursue it, and when you pursue it you can digest it and be nourished by it and become empowered by it.

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PRABHUPADA – musical film (Gopal Bhajan Band) (12 min video)
Beautiful melody glorifying Srila Prabhupada’s coming to the west with edited video scenes (russian lyrics with english subtitles).
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/qq92I7

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Agnideva dasa gets his first mridangam and learns how to bargain over the price with Navadvip’s mridangam’s dealers 🙂 (17 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/m21MUU

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In Honor of Sudha Aunty’s 100th Arangetram (2 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/d1c35v

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Hare Krishna! Chrissie Hynde: No Longer Just a Pretender
“I think it’s easy to see that the moral of my story is that drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, only cause suffering … Philosophically, I’ve kept an ongoing relationship with the Bhagavad Gita, the glory I bask in, always finding answers for everything and solace.” This is not the first time Ms. Hynde has extolled the virtues and glories of the Gita. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper on September 14, 2014, she commented: “My favourite book is the Bhagavad Gita. It’s a 700-verse Hindu scripture and I love the verse that says your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You can either pull yourself down or lift yourself up.” In December of the same year, the travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, asked Hynde what she packs first when going on a trip or vacation. She replied: “A copy of the Bhagavad Gita, which is considered the jewel in the crown of Ayurvedic literature. It’s just a good book to have on hand; you can read a passage of it every morning and it’s quite illuminating. It’s something I’d never like to leave home without – well, that and my American Express card.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20573

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October 20. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Robert Nelson (one of Prabhupada’s first young sympathizers in New York): I went to one of Dr. Mishra’s services and Dr. Mishra talked. Swamiji was sitting on a bench and then all of a sudden Dr. Mishra stopped the service and he gets a big smile and says, ‘Swamiji will sing us a song.’ I think Dr. Mishra wouldn’t let him speak. Somebody told me Dr. Mishra didn’t want him to preach. Years later Srila Prabhupada remembered the situation of the early days of 1965 in a conversation with his disciples. I used to sit in the back and listen to his meetings silently. He was speaking all impersonal nonsense and I kept my silence. Then one day he asked if I would like to speak and I spoke about Krishna consciousness. I challenged that he was speaking manufactured philosophy and all nonsense from Sankaracarya. He tried to back out and said he was not speaking, Sankaracarya was speaking. I said, ‘You are representing him. That is the same thing.’ He then said to me, ‘Swamiji, I like you very much, but you cannot speak here.’ But although our philosophies differed and he would not let me preach, he was kind and I was nice to him.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#20

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Hare Krishna! ‘Life comes from Life’ and ‘Matter comes from Life’ discussed in a Peer Reviewed Paper in Journal ‘Communicative & Integrative Biology’
This paper serves as a critique to the ontological view of the organism as a complex machine. In the seventeenth century, the French philosopher René Descartes claimed that only the human body has a soul, and all other organisms are mere automatons made of meat and bones. Influenced by such a line of thought, most of the scientists were also thinking that only humans are conscious and all other creatures are not. Based on empirical evidence, our published paper presents a case for ubiquity of consciousness in all living organisms. Not only the unicellular organisms (say, bacteria) display cognitive behavior, but that even individual cells in the multicellular organisms exhibit individual cognitive behavior. The scientific confirmation of the existence of consciousness in unicellular organisms and plants certainly establishes that the brain is not the source of consciousness.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20563

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Morrisville Ratha Yatra & Festival of India (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/gcrGA8

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Photos from the GBC Plenary (Album with photos)
Photographs of the first day of the GBC meetings on Organizational Development matters.
To ensure that as ISKCON grows, its organizational systems and process remain relevant to a growing ISKCON, the Organizational Development Committee (or Org Devt) was established. While remaining loyal to Srila Prabhupada’s directions, Org Dev was tasked to study any necessary structural developments and enhancements in order to meet the needs of our expanding movement.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/AuVQDa

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Hare Krishna! Forgiveness
Raghunandana das: We can say that forgiveness is an essential part of an authentic spiritual practice. It calls us to let go, to understand, to be humble, and to reflect on our own shortcomings. Forgiveness is big, and to prac… Read more ›

Three Hundred Thousand Names
The Hare Krishna Japa website recommends “With a little practice, you should be able to chant each round in approximately eight minutes, allowing the full 16 rounds to be done in about two hours and fifteen minutes.”
If Haridasa Thakura chanted at a pace of eight minutes per round, I multiply eight minutes per round times 173.6 rounds. The result is 1392 minutes per day of chanting.
The number of hours would be 1392 minutes divided by 60 minutes per hour, which equals 23.2 hours per day to chant 300,000 holy names.
At eight minutes per round, the time is under 24 hours a day, but still, how? How could Haridasa Thakura chant rounds at eight minutes per round for 23.2 hours out of 24 hours in a day, every day? Chanting 23.2 hours per day would leave .8 hours, which equals 48 minutes. What about sleeping, eating, washing, etc?
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20556

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Hare Krishna! Save The Cow Kirtan Mela and Small Farm Training Center at New Talavan
Nine years running, this year is the second year the festival hosted a 24-hour kirtan! Sri Nama Prabhu, with us through the darkness and the Transcendental Sound Vibration sent into the night, emanating from New Talavan which sits in the middle of all the ill-effects and results of the material world – slaughterhouses, the “entertainment” of illicit sex, soil erosion, government corruption, the legal and illegal drug industries that prey on the human Soul, the human rights abuses… Yes, Nama Prabhu, smack in the middle of Kali Yuga. Sri Krsna appears in the form of His name and Sri Nama has His own reason for being there! The organizers, a very busy group of devotees – residents of both Alachua and New Talavan, gave us this Mercy. Nectar for the fallen, conditioned Souls.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20548

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Hare Krishna! Climate Change and the Ecology of our Hearts
Karuna Dharini devi dasi: Scientists and politicians will certainly grapple to put forth a positive solution for the problem of climate change. Meanwhile devotees need only try to make this earth as nice as possible in the form of Krishna conscious environments such as nice temples, big kirtans, eco-friendly farms, prasadam restaurants, etc., in order to encourage others and our own selves in self-realization. At the same time we keep in mind that Krsna has meant this planet for our rectification, not for permanent residence. The ecology of the heart is the beginning of any hope for external change. Ecology devoid of the study of humanity’s relationship with the Supreme Living Being will always be the study of living beings in a crisis.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20550

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October 19. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Ramamurti Mishra: His Holiness Bhaktivedanta Gosvamiji really knocked me down with love. He was really an incarnation of love. My body had become a skeleton and he really brought me back to life – his cooking and especially his love. And his devotion to Lord Krishna. I was very lazy in the matter of cooking, but he would get up and have ready. Dr. Mishra appreciated that Prabhupada, cooking with the precision of a chemist, would prepare many dishes, and that he had a gusto for eating. Ramamurti Mishra: It was not bread he gave me – he gave me prasadam. This was life, and he saved my life. At that time I was not sure I would live, but his habit to eat on time, whether I was hungry or not – that I very much liked. He’d get up and say, “All right, this is bhagavat prasadam,” and I would say, “All right.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#19

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The month of Kartik in Sri Vrindavan Dham (Album with photos)
The month of Kartik in Sri Vrindavan Dham has such a sublime atmosphere that yearly it attracts large number of pilgrims and devotees from around the world. This may also be due to the benefit of any spiritual activity performed in Vrindavan during Kartik is multiplied thousands of times. This special month is also known as the month of Damodar as it commemorates the pastime of how the Lord allowed Himself to be bound by the love of His mother. The favorite activity of devotees during Kartik at the Krishna Balaram Temple is joining the throngs of devotees singing the Damodarastakam in unison during evening darshan accompanied by the offering of a flame. The lights are dimmed, revealing a beautiful scene of the eager faces of the pilgrims illuminated by the golden glow of circling ghee lamps.
The month also coincides with a number of festivals such as Diwali, Govardhan Puja, and the holy disappearance day of Srila Prabhupada. With the increased number of pilgrims, the chanting of the 24 hour kirtan crew reaches a fever pitch and takes the temple room to heights of ecstasy.
Another highlight of Kartik is the parikramas. Every year, His Holiness Lokanath Swami leads the Braj Mandala Parikrama, a walking tour of the holy twelve forests of Vrindavan, taking place over the entire month of Kartik drawing over 1,500 devotees. Vrindavan fixture Deena Bandhu Prabhu also leads smaller parikramas that leave and return daily from the temple to Vrindavan area holy sites.
Kartik is also marked in Vrindavan by its magnificent feasts. Daily prasadam is generally sponsored for all devotees, and on Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day a feast is served to almost 10,000.
For many, Kartik is a time to catch up with old friends. “And all those devotees are one of the best reasons to visit Vrindavan for Kartik,” says Deena Bandhu. “It’ll take forever to get from one place to another, because every few steps, you’ll met an old friend you haven’t seen for so long.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/K9p6Ro

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Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka – New York City Adventures!
Here Brajananda Prabhu sold a young lady both a Srimad-Bhagavatam volume 1 and a Science of Self-Realization. Initially she was not interested in getting a book, but somehow he convinced her to t… Read more ›

Being with Srila Prabhupada
Shyamasundar: By sitting next to him on that first morning, then I knew beyond any doubt. I had been reading Autobiography of a Yogi and Tibetan Book of the Dead and all those kinds of books that were prevalent in those days about yoga and mysticism. So, I had a little idea of what to expect in a spiritual master. Prabhupada didn’t levitate or he didn’t flash my eyes or make anything crazy to convince me. He just talked me into it. I just never felt so peaceful and at home. But that was my constant desire to be with him all the time, as much as possible. That was the best feeling I had ever had. And I had tried every kind of intoxicant there was, every kind of sensual thrill that was available in those days. And nothing matched that peace, that tranquility and exhilaration, of being with Prabhupada. That’s what I liked, the exhilaration and the excitement. He was almost like a pirate. We were all members of his crew. We were fearless too. When we were just starting out, he’d say, “You stay high when you chant. You get high when you chant. You get high when you chant. There is nothing to fear when you chant. There is nothing to fear when you chant.” Those were his main ways of selling us on this idea. And it worked. I mean, everybody experienced a high. Prabhupada would come every morning at seven to the temple room, and every evening at seven, and personally lead kirtan for an hour. We would have these hour-long kirtans every morning and every night, just the same, old standard melody, none of this fancy stuff. No “namo om vishnu padaya’s,” nothing about Gaura-Nitai or anything else, just straight “Hare Krishna.” The hippies off the streets that were there and the early fledgling devotees, we would just get loaded out of our minds. When Prabhupada would stop the kirtan, everybody would just go like this, you know: “Wow, I feel great.” And that’s what hooked us. He got us on that. And then he would lecture, but not long ones, fifteen minutes, simple. And then he would go upstairs. But every day he did this, for week after week. We lived a few blocks from the temple, and one time there was no money for rent. I was working as a carpenter and not making very much, and supporting a family. And a few of the other devotees, like Jayananda, who was a taxi driver, gave all their money. A few of the other devotees had jobs, but less than ten percent. Everyone else was a hippie. So there was never enough money, because we were feeding everybody on the streets every day, and there was rent to pay and gas to put in our cars to go out and do programs and so on. So we were really in a bind. There was no money for rent. We were behind about two months, and we were in very great danger of being evicted. The landlord had severely gotten down on us. Malati and I walked out on Ashbury Street one morning early to walk to the temple for kirtan. And there were all these hundred dollar bills blowing down the sidewalk, one after another. We were just running down the street picking up these hundred dollar bills. There wasn’t a person on the street. No one ever figured out where they came from. But these kinds of things we began to expect of Krishna. Another thing Prabhupada inculcated in us from the early days was if you take a risk for Krishna, stick your neck out to spread Krishna consciousness, Krishna must help you personally. And those who see Krishna closest take the biggest risks for him. And we tested that to the max. And it worked. We got to see Krishna. We got to see hundred dollar bills rolling down the street!

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Stratford Harinam (Album with photos)
More than 20 Devotees joined us on Harinam in Stratford to help promote the upcoming festival in the town
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Hare Krishna! Saturday Night Harinam in London 17th October 2015
One of the things I love about our two SKP leaders in London, Parasurama and Govinda Prabhus, is that they are always willing to invite younger devotees to lead Kirtan while out on Saturd… Read more ›

Hare Krishna! Why drink cow’s milk?
Romapada Swami: We can see from Srila Prabhupada’s example, that although cow-protection was very close to his heart, where he in fact had direct knowledge of the same set of facts as you, he himself did not give up drinking milk. Instead his response was to work very hard to educate people about cow protection. He wrote profusely and very appealingly about it in his books. He trained his western followers to appreciate the value of a civilization and economy based on cow-protection. He fascinated them by showing how to use milk-products to produce a variety of healthy and delicious foods and the transcendental benefits of offering them to Krishna in devotion. He inspired the establishment of model farm communities to demonstrate the merit of caring for cows. Whenever he met with prominent religionists or social leaders, he seized the opportunity to emphasize this idea and got his guests to reflect on the evil of exploiting and killing mother cow. He presented it not as a religious sentiment or dogma, but in a very scientific and logical manner he showed the spiritual and even economic benefits.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20538

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Hare Krishna! Annual Midterm meetings of the GBC at the Govaradhan Eco Village in Wada
Praghosa dasa: The GBC is meeting at the Govaradhan Eco Village in Wada for their annual Midterm meetings. The main focus is on Strategic Planning and the ongoing ef… Read more ›

Hare Krishna! Unity Among Diverse Personalities
Visakha Dasi: In terms of our personalities and abilities, no two of us are alike. Why should we be? And why would anyone want us to be? Variety, Srila Prabhupada tells us, is the mother of enjoyment. Whatever our personality, whatever our talents, Prabhupada wants us to use them in Krishna’s service. Yet when we learn from Prabhupada’s teachings that women are to be chaste, tolerant, shy, and subservient, it may seem that while men have variegated personalities, women’s personalities are expected to be uniform. But in fact, in their service to Krishna, women’s personalities differ from one another’s as much as men’s. To accept the wonderful variegatedness inherent within each of His devotees, Krishna is unlimitedly variegated. Srila Rupa Goswami describes Krishna’s personality in his Bhaktirasamrita- sindhu. Krishna, he says, is dhirodatta, or grave, gentle, forgiving, merciful, determined, humble, highly qualified, chivalrous, and physically attractive. He is also dhiralalita, or naturally funny, always in the bloom of full youth, expert in joking, free from all anxieties, domesticated, and submissive to His lover.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20529

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Hare Krishna! IRSE Chairman Visits ISKCON Mayapur
On Thursday October 8th 2015, Mr. Satish Agnihotri, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), along with his associates, including the Chief General Manager, … Read more ›

Hare Krishna! Smiling Faces, Crying Hearts
Modern society has devised ingenious ways of attempting to somehow forget this emptiness of the heart. Typical is the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry. Dubbed as the boredom industry, it provides people an escape-way from the frustrating grind of daily life to a celluloid world. There, they vicariously become a dream character, who speaks smartly, behaves flawlessly, fights heroically, wins invariably and enjoys erotic fantasies unlimitedly. But all that the entertainment provides is a temporary feeling of well-being, which cannot and does not last. Worse the grandiose and fantastic settings for bodily enjoyment that it depicts, fuel lust, greed and anger. These irrational and irresistible passions can never be satisfied in actual life. This further cripples the ability of people to experience and exchange love in their real lives and thus the emptiness of the heart deepens. And the vicious cycle – emptiness of heart leading to artificial enjoyment and the vicarious enjoyment resulting in further emptiness of the heart – perpetuates itself. The consequent desperation results in the maniac frenzy that surrounds sports, movies and similar forms of entertainment.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=3156

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October 18. ISKCON 50–S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Manhattan: At the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a student of Dr. Mishra’s met Prabhupada as he arrived from Philadelphia and escorted him directly to an Indian festival in the City. There Prabhupada met Dr. Mishra, as well as Ravi Shankar and his brother, the dancer Uday Shankar. It may have been a bit of a shock for Prabhupada to plunge into New York City for the first time and be immediately brought to a non-religious Indian festival where he met the impersonalists, Dr. Mishra, the world famous sitarist Ravi Shankar and his dancer brother. They were not exactly like-minded pure devotees of Krishna. But Prabhupada was not only a pure Vaisnava; he was a former hometown “Calcutta man” and a businessman for many years. He knew how to deal with worldly people in intense city life. He associated with these people like a lotus on the water; without getting wet. After the Indian festival, Prabhupada accompanied Dr. Mishra to his apartment at 33 Riverside Drive, beside the Hudson River. The apartment had large windows overlooking the River. Dr. Mishra gave Prabhupada a room to himself.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#18

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Bhakta das from Iskcon Australia has a message for you (8 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/TXFvme Read more ›

Hare Krishna! Goosebumps and bliss!
Chant and dance in ecstasy! Experience the bliss! Just let go! Many a time we may have felt heightened exhilaration during kirtan or other devotional activities and wondered if it was some form of ecstatic symptom like bhava! If it was bhava, does that make one a maha-bhagavat? If it wasn’t, what was it? An uninformed student may think he has reached the acme of his devotional career with such a feeling and wondered if there is still more bliss ahead. The whole range of emotions we feel here on earth have their original and full expression in Goloka-Vrndavana, and while we experience bursts of elation while performing sadhana-bhakti, it is worthwhile noting how materialistic people also obtain occasional joyfulness bordering on ecstatic, though it would be improper to compare with devotional happiness.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=3064

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A course about how to make turbans for Krishna (Album with photos)
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Three Basic Views of the World
Radhanath Swami: There are three basic views of the world we live in. One is the very materialistic view wherein people see this world as the only real reality. Another is that world is an entirely an illusion, and the third is the best of view, that the world is the scared property of God. It is real but it is temporary in its manifestations.
Now the conception that the world is the only true reality leaves one with the consciousness that it really doesn’t matter what we do as long as we get what we want. If we hurt people, if we trample on moral values, ethical principles, if we get money, fame, power, sensual and emotional pleasures, it’s all justified because as that saying goes, “eat drink and be merry because tomorrow may never come”. When we believe that this world is the only reality then even our so called moral principles are built on a very weak foundation because when temptation and fear come, why not break our moral and ethical values if I can get something better. Then we become victimized by greed, envy, lust, anger, arrogance and illusion. We see it so prevalent in the world today.
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How I met and accepted Srila Prabhupada as my Spiritual Master.
Shyamasundar das: Mukunda met Prabhupada first in the Lower East Side of New York. One of the very first disciples was Mukunda. He came out west to meet me and, at that time, my girlfriend, Melanie, who later became Malati. He convinced us by his example that Srila Prabhupada, who was just called Swami then, was his spiritual master. And knowing Mukunda and Yamuna so well and seeing them so convinced by one man was impressive, but I didn’t accept immediately. I spent about three months skeptically watching them. They had given up meat eating, drugs, intoxication, gambling, and sex. They had given up everything. And I was still doing all of that stuff. I was just waiting for their armor to crack so that I could say, “Ah, you see; he wasn’t the right guy after all.” But after three months of that, I just had to throw in the towel and say, “Hey, if this guy is happy all the time doing what he’s doing and I’m always unhappy, why not give it a try?” So, I accepted Prabhupada through my friend. But the moment I saw Prabhupada I knew that I made the right choice. My first personal interaction with Prabhupada was the day after that dance at the Avalon ballroom. He was living in an apartment above the temple on Frederick Street. Prabhupada had asked Mukunda, I think, “Who has put on this dance? Who was responsible for this dance?” And he said, “Sam.” “Oh, bring him here,” Prabhupada said. So he introduced me at that time. And Prabhupada said, “You have made this money? How much money did you make last night?” I told him I thought it was about $2,000. I wasn’t sure. That was really Melanie’s department. She collected the money at the gate. And he said, “Oh!” In those days that was a lot of money, especially for the Hare Krishnas. And he said, “Well, then, those who make the money should know how to spend it. Do you know bookkeeping?” I said, “The rudiments, not much.” Prabhupada said, “Then I will teach you. Every day you come here.” First he had me come over and sit beside him on his vyasasana, and he had Mukunda bring some paper, and he began to show me double entry bookkeeping—expenses and costs. And meticulously he would have me bring the books up every day. And if they missed by a few pennies, he would be on my case. [Laughs.] He could see my heart wasn’t really into bookkeeping or being a treasurer at all. I’m a spendthrift when it comes to money. But that was his practical aspect. He always associated with us or brought us into his charm, charmed us in a practical way, employed us in Krishna’s service however he could. And sometimes he tricked us, just to get us to do some service.

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Hare Krishna! All India Padayatra arrives at Tirupati
Since the last thirty-two years All India Padayatra has been traveling all over India, distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. The devotees of All India Padayatra have been walking through Andhra Pradesh since the last nine months. Currently more than 30 devotees including Srila Prabhupada’s disciple HG Akhiladhar Prabhu are part of this Padayatra. On the 12th evening they reached Akaramapalli Namahatta center run by ISKCON Tirupati. HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj joined them in the evening during Harinam Nagar Sankirtan. Many local villagers and devotees from ISKCON Tirupati participated in the Gaura-arati and attended the lecture delivered by Lokanath Maharaj in the Ram Mandir of Akaramapalli Namahatta center.
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