Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Can Sexuality Be Spiritual?
Principles of Freedom – By Rukmini Devi Dasi.
“What’s the big deal about sex?” asked a student, “Why does religion demonize what seems to be a natural human expression? How can we expect the world t…

Congregational Book Distribution: Monthly Sankirtan Festivals
“Monthly Sankirtan Festivals are a great way to engage the entire congregation in book distribution,” says Vaisesika dasa. “At our temple, we combine the festival with a holy day on the Vaisnava calendar. Our meditation during the Monthly Sankritan Festival is that the sankirtan results are our special offering to the Lord.”
Sankirtan is a Sanskrit term which means the congregational chanting and sharing of the names and glories of Krishna, which is the recommended process for spiritual success. In the Hare Krishna tradition, sankirtan is associated with sharing our spiritual culture with the public via the timeless books, translated by Srila Prabhupada.
Vaisesika Dasa is the Temple President of the ISKCON Silicon Valley (ISV) temple as well as the North American Sankirtan Strategist. Over the last seven years, he has used ISV as a testing ground for different book distribution strategies. The Monthly Sankirtan Festival has proven so successful that Vaisesika is now training other temples in this strategy. The Monthly Sankirtan Festivals have spread to Boston, Houston, New York City, Washington, DC. , Toronto and now to Alachua, FL.
Vaisesika says that the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wanted everyone to conduct book distribution. He remembers that in the early days of ISKCON, the temples were managed so that even the cooks and pujaris had days when they went out on book distribution.
Why did Srila Prabhupada want all of his disciples to engage in book distribution? “Book distribution has so many benefits,” says Vaisesika. “The most important benefit is that it purifies the distributor. All service, including book distribution, should be performed in a way that purifies the servant. Then, the service expands to purify others who are able to take advantage of the sankirtan movement.”
At ISV, before a devotee is allowed to go out on book distribution, he/she must participate in a training seminar. The seminar focuses on how to perform book distribution in a way that is purifying. The most important principle is that we want to leave everyone with a good impression of devotees. This means that devotees must develop the intelligence to know who to approach and who to leave alone. Leaving everyone with a good impression also means freely distributing prasadam. Vaisesika says, “Book distribution is very purifying if we see ourselves as instruments. It forces us to see others as spirit souls and to treat them respectfully.”

A second benefit of book distribution is that it enlivens the devotees. Vaisesika quotes one of our previous acharyas, who said, “One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.” One who “has life” does not identify with the body, which is dead matter. Instead, he identifies as a living, conscious spirit soul. The third-class devotee identifies with the body. The second-class devotee, however, identifies as a spirit soul. Book distribution is the best preaching for a third-class devotee. By engaging in book distribution, the third-class devotee can advance very quickly to the second-class level and “get life.”
A third benefit is that book distribution forces devotees to move out of their comfort zone. Vaisesika says, “Book distribution is good practice for the time of death, when many of us will be out of our comfort zones.”
At ISV, the leadership emphasizes Vaisnava holy days as special opportunities to receive the Lord’s mercy and purification. Thus, the congregation enjoys the Monthly Sankirtan Festival even more than the traditional feast, because the members know they are on the fast-track back home, back to Godhead. The majority of the congregation participates in the Monthly Sankirtan Festival. On large festival days such as Gaura Purnima, over 240 congregational members will be on the streets, performing sankirtan. Vaisesika says that every member of ISKCON should have the opportunity to make advancement in Krishna consciousness by preaching. He says that he has tested the Monthly Sankirtan Festival concept at ISV, and it is now proving successful in other communities.

Harinama in Paris (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chantin…Read More…

Breathing Space.
Ananda Vrindavaneshwari Devi Dasi: Last week a dry cough gripped my breath and made it short. I had the experience we all have – appreciating something when it’s gone or not working well.
Breathing is the in and out of life that happens unconsciously until it doesn’t. The idea of my last breath became a reality. What do I breathe? How do I breathe? Can I do it better when I’m better? These were all questions that stayed with me as I slowed down due to shallow breathing.
That experience helped me create some breathing space in my life – the gift of illness is the gift of time. Nothing became more pressing than healing the cough and yet I needed to give it time by giving myself time to slow down and rest. Who wants to be sick? Too much to do! I should push on! I also couldn’t hurry up the recovery – the illness itself needed breathing space to find its feet and work itself through.

Breathing space is needed when we are sick and it is key to keeping healthy when we are healthy. Exercise and rest create breathing space for the body, listening and meditation make breathing space for the mind, and philosophy and reflections on life and death provide breathing space for the intelligence.

And the soul? How to make breathing space for soul? Answer: Intentional devotional service to Krishna, for His pleasure. Taking time to gaze at the beautiful Deity form of the Lord. Making a tasty vegetarian dish and offering it to Him with love and devotion. Joining a kirtan. Taking japa beads and walking or sitting with Krishna’s name. Listening to talks about Krishna. Sharing thoughts about Krishna through writing or speaking.

My favorite example of breathing space is Krishna providing it to Arjuna minutes before the great battle of Kuruksetra. It made all the difference for Arjuna. Keep breathing space close to the top of your new year’s resolutions list – to have some for yourself and to give to others. It’s guaranteed to make all the difference.

How I came to Krishna Consciousness – HH Bhakti Marga Swami (21 min video)
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Sastra Dana Sweden Report November/December 2017.
Mukunda das: 360 “Bortom födelse och död”
15 “Perfekta frågor och perfekta svar”
10 “En mästares ledning”
8 Bhagavad-gita
1 Srimad Bhagavatam set
Shastra Dana programme in Sweden has now existed over eight years.
From August 2009 – December 2017 we have distributed app 19.500 böcker.
Srila Prabhupada wrote to Cyavana das 26 December 1971:
”Distribution of books and magazines is our most important activity.
Without books, our preaching has no solid basis”
Special thanks to the following devotees for supporting the book
distribution:
HH Smita Krishna Swami, Sri Jayadeva das, Ella & Sune Hellström, Aja das & Pancavati dd, Magnus Hedström, Sten Bergil, Jayesh das, Muktarama das, Mikael Forian, Mikael Johansson, Robert Åkerman, Cathryn Claesson, Astasiddhi dd, Yogindra das, Bahulashva das, Dharani dd

Bodybuilders in Russia become devotees (Album with photos)
Alexander Segolev of Chelyabinsk – master of Sports, judge of the Na…Read More…

Distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books under the snow (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: These temples, they are just like oasis in the desert for the conditioned souls to quench the thirst of their desire for real happiness. Letter to Ksirodakshayi, January 29, 1973
Find them here: https://goo.gl/mfZN1s

Have Darshans of the Most Holiest site of Naimisharanya! (Album with photos)
Chakratirtha……..
Chakratirtha, considered to be the holiest site in Naimisharanya, is also believed to be the epicenter of Prithvimandala (Earth). In the Satya Yuga, some of the most prominent rishis used to perform continual yagnas here, including- Maharishi Shringi, Maharishi Dalabhaya, Maharishi Udallak, Maharishi Shikamketu, Maharishi Pravaan and many others. It is believed that a huge Manomaya Chakra (wheel) fell on this site and created a round “Kund”, which is known as Chakra Tirtha. Devotees taking bath in this Kund are believed to have their soul cleansed and those who perform charity gain wealth benefits. The body is purified through meditation and people who donate “Pinda” are believed to attain the state of Moksha.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/iBsBMy

HG Shyamsundar Prabhu shares some excerpts from the newly released book “Chasing the Rhinos ” and some from the upcoming volumes, on 7th of Jan 2018 at ISKCON Chowpatty (video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/sviru7

Watch Online the Live Broadcast of the Historic TOVP Chakra Installation Ceremony
The TOVP management has arranged for a live broadcast of the Grand Installation Ceremony of the Chakras onto Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s domes on February 7th, 2018 through MayapurTV. Now every devotee will have an opportunity to view this occasion live right from the comfort of their own home and with their entire family.
This momentous and pivotal occasion, perhaps the most important in ISKCON’s history to date, represents the completion of a seven year phase of construction and the beginning of the remaining phase of construction of the TOVP as we approach the Grand Opening in 2022. It heralds yet another milestone of achievement in our cooperative effort to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s strong desire to build this unique temple and establish Sridhama Mayapur as the spiritual capital of the world, nay, the universe, from whence the sankirtan movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began and Krishna prema flows.

The address to access MayapurTV is: www.mayapur.com/media/mayapur-tv/

A link to download the Schedule of Events is below and we request you print it to post at your local temple and share on your Facebook Page and other social media. Become a TOVP Ambassador and spread the word.
https://cdn.tovp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/schedule-of-events_print_ver.zip

Radha Kunda Seva: December 2017 Photos and Updates (Album of photos)
It is with great joy that we welcome the New Year with this announcement, “Apsara and Navala Kundas are clean!” It took over two weeks for our crew to tackle the buildup of trash there. Now we’ve transitioned to daily maintenance cleaning and moved on to another place badly in need of care. We have started cleaning Dananivartan Kunda situated just about a kilometer south of the Danghati Temple in Govardhan Town. From there, we are slowly working our way south down the side of Govardhan Hill. Our crew is very happy to do this work. In wonder, they expressed how perfect it is that they are earning a livelihood and performing a most important service to Govardhan at the same time!
We had a hope that the Forestry Department would give us some land to care for, but asking the Forestry Minister via mediaries didn’t seem to be going anywhere until… the minister himself showed up as we were cleaning the area near Dananivartan Kunda! Way to get his attention! He was happy with our work and is going to try his best to get us a lease on that tract of forest! If anything, the meeting was certainly a green light for us to continue cleaning right near Govardhan!
For years, we’ve been working with Food for Life Vrindavan to support the construction and running of a girls’ school here in Govardhan. Though that construction has been delayed due to issues with the land, we have decided to offer some classes at local schools in the meantime. Specifically, we are teaching classes in classical Indian dance, Bharatanatyam. The girls are so eager to learn! Dancing and singing about Radha and Krishna comes naturally to them since love of Radha and Krishna is the foundation of their lives and culture here in Vraja.
As the new year dawns, our cleaning and prasadam distribution continue. We are deeply grateful for your blessings and support due to which this service is thriving and expanding.
Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com. We are dependent on your help. Your servants, Campakalata Devi dasi, Padma Gopi Devi dasi, Sri Arjuna dasa, Urmila Devi Dasi, and Mayapurcandra dasa.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/yA2tzf

ISKCON devotees’ 7-year-old daughter Vasilisa Yashenko has been recently filmed in a major Russian TV talent show for children entitled as “Luchshe Vseh” or “Best Of All”.
The audience, as well as the host Maxim Galkin – a famous TV-star, husband of Russian primadonna Alla Pugachova, – were responding to Vasilisa’s performance of an Indian dance with great enthusiasm.
Watch Vasilisa’s heart-warming TV performance here: https://goo.gl/XDS1VW

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: In a retreat with devotees from Chita in East Siberia. Outside it’s minus 25, but inside it’s nice, and the devotees’ hearts are, as always, very warm. (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Do4474

Gold Coast in HarinamaBliss, Surfer Paradise-Australia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, how glorious are they whose to…Read More…

ISKCON Mayapur Devotees to facilitate pilgrims at GangaSagar Fair.
The devotees of ISKCON Mayapur are setting up a huge camp at…Read More…

BB Govinda Swami: Gopa Kumara asked “How can I chant with pure love?” And they said “Well, if you want to chant with love you must know the Srimad Bhagavatam.” This shows that basically Gopa Kumara had traveled through all the l…

Sponsor GITA (4 min video)
Iskcon Nepal: Help us reach your family, your village, your town. Help us create cultural awareness …Read More…

Kartamashayi – “The Boss” (The Eternal Prince).
by Jaya Govinda dasa: Govinda Dasi, the original Prabhupada disciple was in Vancouver the past summer and she mentioned that she has a Kartamashayi Deity. Immediately my ears perked up when I heard her say that because I also have one.
When I told her that I have one of the original ones that Srila Prabhupada chose, she was interested in seeing it. I explained to her how I managed to acquire Him.
In 1992, perhaps 1993, when I was operating the Hare Krishna Place Cafe in New Westminster, B.C., Radha Damodar Prabhu used to love coming there for lunch. He told me about his Kartamashayi Deity and asked me if I would like to have Him reside in the cafe. He said Prabhupada liked these Deities to be in preaching centers and restaurants. Naturally I graciously accepted such a wonderful offer. He then told me the history of how he acquired Him.
When he was a brahmacari, he was sent from Vancouver to Denver. There was a Kartamashayi Deity there at the time which he started to take care of. In the meantime he married and had two sons of which the first he named after the Deity Kartamashayi. When he and his family left Denver for California primarily for gurukula for his boys, the temple president of Denver asked if he would like to keep the Deity as he took such good care of Him and off they all went to California.
Radha Damodar told me that there were six of these Deities that Srila Prabhupada had personally choose and he named some of the temples where they were.
Later Radha Damodar and family moved to Vancouver and stayed for about a decade and of course he brought along his Kartamashayi Deity with them. Later when he and his family were moving to Alachua he asked me if I would like to keep the Deity which was still in the Hare Krishna Place as it was not practical for him to take him to Alachua. Of course I immediately accepted his generous offer.
Later on Nara Narayana Prabhu, the early disciple of Prabhupada visiting from Los
Angeles overheard me mention that I had an original Kartamashayi Deity. He was very curious to see it. He told me that he was the one who made them at Srila Prabhupada’s request and that only a few were cast. I was a little skeptical at first because his story didn’t quite fit with what Radha Damodar told me. Nonetheless I showed him my Kartamashayi.
When I showed Him to Nara Narayana, he immediately recognized Him as being one of the ones he made. He showed a certain design feature that only he, being the sculptor would notice. I was reassured that I had one of the original ones. I was quite excited to confirm and to clarify Radha Damodar’s testament and I even had Nara Narayana put his signature on the inside of the Deity as He is hollow.
Now back to Govinda Dasi.
When I showed my Kartamashayi to her, she told me that the color had been changed which it had. He had been repainted a few times and I even had another devotee re-paint Him again as He was looking a little tarnished. Then the following day she came to my door and told me that she couldn’t sleep very well the previous night. She was a little disturbed that Kartamashayi was not the right color. She then told me that Srila Prabhupada personally instructed her on how to paint Him with the proper color and some of the detailed features.
She then told me that she and Nara Narayana worked on making about a half dozen of these Deities in Los Angeles. He did the casting and she painted them. She was one of the first artists in ISKCON.
After hearing this interesting information, she then offered to re-paint my Kartmashayi which delighted me beyond no limits. We arranged to acquire the paint and other necessary materials to do the work. She did a wonderful job bringing Him back to His original and proper appearance. I couldn’t resist having her put her signature on the back of His base.
She then told me about the story of Kartamashayi and how They manifested. The original Deity of Kartamashayi used for the cast was that one from that Montreal Deity in the picture. Govinda Dasi spent a lot of time in Montreal with Srila Prabhupada. Gopal Krishna Goswami also told us that if he or anyone wanted to see Srila Prabhupada at that time, they had to go through Govinda Dasi. She was Prabhupada’s secretary. It was at this time that she witnessed that Srila Prabhupada used to talk to that Deity in a very personal way. Sometimes he would talk to Him and he would laugh and display other emotions. Something very intimate seemed to be taking place between Kartamashayi and Prabhupada. She had no idea but some very intimate exchanges were taking place.
Anyway at some point Srila Prabhupada asked her to go to Hawaii to help her husband who was already there trying to open a center. Naturally she was very attached to being with Srila Prabhupada and didn’t want to leave him. Finally she negotiated a condition to Srila Prabhupada. She would reluctantly leave Srila Prabhupada and go to Hawaii if she could take Kartamashayi with her. Prabhupada agreed!
When she was on her way to Hawaii she stopped in Los Angles and it was then that Prabhupada asked Nara Narayana to cast some Kartamashayi Deities for the few different temples in ISKCON by using the one Govinda Dasi had with her. So he did and Govinda Dasi painted Them according to Prabhupada’s personal directions.
She told me that when she saw all the fresh new Kartamashayi Deities lined up and the original one beside them she felt that the original one looked a little faded and she was thinking perhaps she should take one of the shiny brand new ones with her instead, but then she thought, “no.. this one was Srila Prabhupada’s.”
To this day she still has Him with her in Hawaii and I have one of His original expansions.
The attached picture is from last Radhastami. Kartamashayi is standing in the Lord’s Lotus Pond while Radha Madana Gopal circumambulate Him on their Swan boat. Each year I place Kartamashayi on the top of His Janmastami Cake for thousands overseeing the Janmastami festival. After all His name which suits His pose means “the boss.”
Your servant in Lord Krishna’s service,
Jaya Govinda dasa
(New Gokula Dhama)

Keepers Of The Flame Of Bhakti.
Karnamrita Dasa: KEEPERS OF THE FLAME: Although this expression is most often used by our Christian brothers and sisters, I totally relate to its exclamation in relationship to what or who I am, or at least, aspire to …

Harinama at Byron Bay – 03 January 2018, Iskcon New Govardhana (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: “I have brought medicine to awaken very living being from perpetual sleep. Please receive the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and awaken. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.13.9 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/x3tyFh

Sunday program, Jan 7 – 2018, Krasnodar ISKCON, Russia (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna mantra says, “My dear Lord Krishna, my dear Lord Rama, O energy of the Lord, Hare, kindly engage me in your service.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.69 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/shNLV7

Kirtan Fest at ISKCON Calgary, Canada (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One has to continue chanting the Hare Krishna mantr…Read More…

Maintenance of ISKCON is in the hands of the next generation by Bhakti Charu Swami. Published on Jan 5, 2018 (video)
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Srimad Bhagavatam Class 11.6.34-35 By Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty on 6th January 2018 (video)
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Sivarama Swami: Yoga has lost its soul! (2 min video)
What Yoga REALLY is?
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The Wall Street Journal: Psychologists Shouldn’t Ignore the Soul!
David H. Rosmarin: When I was an intern, patients frequently asked if they could talk to me about God.
In my first six months as a predoctoral psychology intern at McLean Hospital, I was approached by at least 10 patients asking essentially the same question: Can I speak to you about God? They wanted to discuss their problems not in psychological terms but in spiritual ones. I guess the yarmulke on my head suggested I was an appropriate person to offer guidance.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/kmLzj6

New Varshana’s Ratha Yatra (6 min video)
Prananatha Das: New Varshan devotees held a Ratha Yatra Festival today, pulling the Rath cart around the farm. This was the first time that many of the devotees and guests saw our new, Govardhan Hill. You won’t believe your eyes!! (Thanks to the hard work of Saci Suta and his wife, Ananta Krishna. ).
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/DoV3Lq

Prabhupada had planned the takeover of Russia long before he ever went to Russia.
Govinda dasi: He used to sit and turn the globe, and he would meditate on the different countries.
And he would say, “Brahmananda, you shall go to Russia. Goursundar, you shall go to Japan. Somebody else, you shall go to South America.”
You have to understand, we had no money, we had no manpower, we had nothing.
We were a handful of teenagers, 10 people in their early 20’s who were rather eccentric, all of us, because we had rejected our cultural values and we were following him like a Pied Piper, and he was telling us about these different countries we were going to go to and open temples.
He had his plan. It was not haphazardly done.
I have a beautiful picture of Prabhupada sitting and turning his globe.
He did it a lot. He meditated on the globe.
He looked at the different countries. You would see him doing it a lot, and he was planning.

He had planned the takeover of Russia long before he ever went to Russia.

This is a part of what he knew he had to come to this world and do.

We just didn’t know what all he was doing, although sometimes…in Montreal when we had a lot of time and he would talk, he used to talk to me about his different plans.

We had no money. We lived in a little flat. We had rats too.

There was nothing and yet he was telling me how he was going to have a world sankirtan party, and he also told me how he wanted to have a big auditorium where people could come and watch bhajans and hear bhajans and see plays and Krishna conscious things rather than going to the cinemas.

He felt the cinemas were drawing people into another world.

He had plans of doing this.

And when I go to Bombay and I see that great big auditorium, I say, “He said he was going to do this.”

It’s just like if I’m a pauper and I tell you I’m going to build Disneyland, and that’s what it was like.

But I never disbelieved anything he said, I just listened.

I was just always listening to him, and he liked to talk about what he was going to do.

And he talked about many things.

—Govinda dasi

The appearance of Govardhana hill in New Varshana. (Album with photos)
By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada!!
The residing Deities are Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari installed by Srila Prabhupada 1972.
Work in progress.
One night Sacisuta Prabhu one of the older devotees of New Varshana, Auckland, NewZealand had a dream about Govardhana hill. And when he woke up from his dream he said to his wife Ananta Krsna dd I’m going to build Govardhana hill and as you can see by the photos Sri Giri Govardhan! is fulfilling his desire by manifesting himself by His causeless mercy.
Today we sprinkled dust from Braj over Govardhana.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/CSUpqf

Mission Impossible (The Impossible Quest)
“IMPOSSIBLE is a word in fool’s dictionary.” Hope you have heard this statement oftentimes. Such inspiring statements invigorate one to do things that apparently seem to be beyond one’s capacity. But did you ever try to contemplate in what ‘context’ such statements could be used? And what could be the driving force that enables a person to make impossible things possible?
Scriptures proclaim that not a blade of grass moves without the permission and sanction of the Supreme Lord. Sure enough, this is no exaggeration, because every living entity is utterly dependent on the Lord in every walk of his life. So, without the sanction of the Lord, how does any insignificant mortal possibly achieve anything impossible?
Here is the formula to achieve the impossible. If one has a pure intent to render tangible service to the humanity selflessly, the Lord and His representatives help him in every possible way to make the impossible tasks possible. It’s the blessings and good wishes of great souls and the Lord that make one accomplish impossible missions, and not the individual’s determination inspired by one’s own whimsical desires. If one is obsessed to achieve one’s selfish ambitions that cause no good to others, his taking of so-called inspiration from such statements is merely passionate, if not imprudent. In fact, a selfish person’s desire to achieve impossible goals doesn’t cause any good to his own self. We see several examples in the scriptures like Hiranyakashipu and Ravana who tried to become immortal, which is impossible for any mortal being, causing great disturbance to people in general and ultimately ruining their own lives.

On the other hand we have an example from the Srimad Bhagavatam that describes the glorious sacrifice of a selfless soul who took up an impossible mission and made it possible by the power of his pure intent. Once upon a time there lived the great king Sagara, who was an ancestor of Lord Rama. He decided to perform a horse sacrifice. Indra, the king of heaven, being envious of Sagara had stolen the sacrificial horse and tied it near the hermitage of the great sage Kapiladeva. The 60,000 sons of Sagara went in search of the lost horse and found it near Kapila’s hermitage. They mistook Kapila as a thief and tried to attack him. The angry sage then burnt all of them to ashes. Ansuman, the grandson of Sagara then approached Kapila and begged for the deliverance of his forefathers. Kapila told that they could be delivered only when touched by the holy waters of river Ganges. Dilipa, the son of Ansuman tried to bring the Ganges to this world but died without success.

King Bhagiratha, the son of Dilipa, was determined to bring the Ganges to this world, and underwent severe austerities. Mother Ganges, being fully satisfied by his austerities, appeared before him. Bhagiratha then requested her to deliver his forefathers. But Gangadevi expressed her concern that her waters would be very forceful that the flow would pierce the surface of earth. She therefore asked Bhagiratha to find someone who is capable of checking her force. Bhagiratha then prayed to Lord Siva who agreed for this task, and thus helped the descent of Ganga devi. Simply by the touch of the holy Ganges, Bhagiratha’s forefathers were delivered and allowed to go to the heavenly planets.

Thus Bhagiratha with his determined will accomplished the impossible mission of bringing Mother Ganges to this planet. Thus, he not only delivered his forefathers but also every living entity that would come in contact with holy waters of the Ganges for the rest of eternity.

Similarly in our journey of life, we face many ups and downs and many missions that may seem impossible. But the lesson we learn from the descent of Ganga is to remain fixed in the goal of life, by the strength of higher virtue. Life is not worth living without seemingly impossible challenges. If one takes up challenges with pure motivation and determination, in a spirit of doing good to others, Lord favors him in all his movements and makes every circumstance in life favorable to him.

Srimad Bhagavatam Class in Mayapur, Jan 4, 2018, Canto 8.6.12 by Atita Guna devi dasi ACBSP.
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Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Appearance day celebrated at ISKCON-Delhi, 06-01-2018(Album with 16 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: All gl…Read More…

Krishna katha kept everyone captivated for more than two hours (Album with photos)
On 11th Nov 2017, Gaur Gopal Das was invited to speak at Artha Forum on the topic of ‘Living in the VUCA world,’ at RELC International Hotel, Singapore.
Smart and well-informed group of entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, professionals, and students gathered to hear from him, seeking for new perspectives on dealing with the mayhem around us. Filled with deep wisdom and realizations, the talk and follow-up Q&A kept everyone captivated for more than two hours.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/6yy8op

Giriraj Swami: In anticipation of the fortieth anniversary of of the Juhu temple, Rasa-sundari dasi wrote about serving there:
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay from 1990 to 1992 was sometimes a real challenge, because we had hardly any facilities.
In the beginning there were only three of us, not even initiated then: Bhakta Juan, Bhaktin Manju, and myself, Bhaktin Flor.
Cooking was done on the second floor in a small kitchen connected to the Bhaktivedanta Institute. Guru Maharaja always took his prasadam in his office, and as he liked hot chapattis, we were cooking them on the second floor and then running down the hall with them, one by one, to the office.
There were no mobile phones at that time, so lots of time was spent trying to find each other to get the messages through.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant to be able to go with him to visit all those wonderful devotees who were present during Srila Prabhupada’s time—Mrs. Nirmala Singhal, Dr. C. P. Patel, Mr. P. L. Sethi, Srimati Sumati Morariji. They all received Guru Maharaja like a long-lost son who finally had come home.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant witnessing how he gave himself fully to each and every person who wanted to see him, and everyone wanted to see him. He never showed any concern for himself, whether he had eaten, taken rest, or had some time for himself.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant being the lucky first three devotees that received initiation from him under the loving glance of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji, and we became Vrindavan das, Janaki devi dasi, and Rasa-sundari dasi.
After our initiation, Guru Maharaja allowed us to collect guru-daksina in front of the restaurant. At the end of the day, when Vrindavan das told Guru Maharaja that because of his service, he had not been able to collect anything and so he had nothing to give to him, Guru Maharaja looked at him and said, “You need not worry about that—you have already given me your life.”
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant being able to see him many mornings on the altar doing the mangala-arati for Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant seeing him so expertly supervise the cleaning and maintenance of Srila Prabhupada’s quarters. He wanted us, the devotees, to do the cleaning and everything else there.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant watching him go almost every morning after mangala-arati to Srila Prabhupada’s quarters and chant his rounds there.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant meeting and serving so many of his wonderful godbrothers and godsisters who had served together with him during Prabhupada’s times, and seeing the love they all had for him.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay meant realizing that you are not this body, when after ten or twelve hours of intense service you fell on your bed, the body completely exhausted and the soul inside completely blissful, wanting to do more.
Serving Guru Maharaja in Bombay was one of the happiest times in my life!
—Rasa-sundari dasi

Movie Stuntman Finds Joy in Krishna Consciousness.
Devotees from ISKCON’s Soho St temple began visiting Jason and bringing him maha-prasadam and more books. “I read Chant and Be Happy, and the idea of self-realization through chanting really appealed to me,” he says.
“Next, I read Prabhupada’s biography, ‘Your Ever Well Wisher.’ I started to become very interested in the person of Srila Prabhupada. I read more and more about his mission, and the history of how he founded ISKCON in the United States. That’s when I became vegetarian. Step by step, my consciousness was changing.”
La Shard began to look for devotee association. He visited the Soho St. temple, and then took the three-month Veda course, an introductory program to Krishna consciousness, at Bhaktivedanta Manor. There, he studied the Gita chapter by chapter, and learned about Vedic culture, Vaishnava saints, the history of ISKCON and more.
In the summer, he joined Parasurama Das’s team of preachers, putting on Rathayatra festivals all over Scandinavia as well as Northern England and Scotland. Parasurama, delighted to make the acquaintance of the “biggest devotee in ISKCON,” warmly nicknamed La Shard “Bhima.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/DST2YD

Gopal’s Fun School – Goa.
Mission: Train Children of our society in the spiritual field with a view to awakening God consciousness in them so that over a period of time they become divine law-abiding citizens and consciously make the correct decisions in life to keep away from everything any caring parent would want them to avoid. Above all they are provided with a sense of responsibility towards themselves and society as a whole. Most importantly this all has to be done in a FUN way. 90% FUN + 10%.
GFS is a weekend FUN program for kids to create wonderful memories of their childhood and KRISHNA using a lively blend of art, stories, quiz, drama, games.
Read more: https://goo.gl/boRKA7

Kirtan by HH BB Govinda Swami, Dallas Kirtan50, 29.12.2017 (video)
Srila Prabhupada: We are not afraid of maya because Krishna is there. Krishna says, “My devotee will never be vanquished by maya.” Maya cannot do anything if we become strong. And what is that strength? Chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare loudly. (Lecture on Bhagavad-gita, 3.6.10, Los Angeles 1968).
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/rrrQjz

Attending Jagruti 2018 (Album with photos)
ISKCON Goa: Two days of Annual Spiritual festival JAGRUTI ended today. While 1000 of participants got benefitted by two great topics given by Bhaktirasamrita Swami ji during the discourse time, lot of participants also tested their SQ (Spirituality Quotient) post-session. Among 100+ participants across 2 days, 8 were able to get 100% SQ score. As a promise to them, here are their pictures. Congratulations to winners. Please consider seriously in taking your spiritual journey to next level by going through “Journey of Self Discovery Course”.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Zmgkqp

Bhakti Center: 2017 Year in Review.
Looking back at the Bhakti Center’s growth in 2017, and looking forward a bit into 2018.
Click on the link below and blow up the window to full screen for a stunning magazine laid out by Rukmini Poddar!
https://issuu.com/bhakticenter/docs/2017_annualreview