Author Archives: Dandavats.com

A Special festival of Gratitude in Memory of Srinathji Prabhu At Iskcon Chowpatty by HH Radhanath Swami On 08 Oct 2017 (video)
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Plug-Stoppers on the Path of Perfection
Dhirasanta Das Goswami: The practitioners of bhakti or devotional service to Krsna, especially those that are initiated, vow to follow four regulative principles. These are no intoxication, no illicit sex, no meat eating and no gambling. However, watching TV and movies always includes seeing others engaged in intoxication, graphic sex life, violence, and gambling. Therefore in a sense watching it means we are breaking our regulative principles of freedom.
What reason do we have that we should go out of our way to observe and watch these activities of Kali-yuga. Already it’s difficult enough to stay away from them, being bombarded and having our consciousness challenged by them when simply going about our daily activities? And why would I want to bring these things into my own home, to give ideas to my children?
The effect of breaking the regulative principles is that we commit sin. By committing sin, we complicate our spiritual lives, entangle ourselves in material existence, and suffer from the results of that sin. Anything that you see makes an impression in the heart. So the rampant violence, sex, intoxication, bad language, immoral behavior, and fairytale worlds like Spiderman jumping off buildings and flying through the air, these make an impression in the heart. When they do, they become a source of meditation, not only as a reflection of the mind, but something that creates seeds of material desires in the heart and which will also water existing seeds of desire in the heart.
By committing sin there’s an effect in the mind, these sinful thoughts linger in the heart. They come up like bubbles from the mud and become the source of other sinful desires, which then become the result of further sinful acts. Ultimately what devotees see on TV and in movies, they’ll end up doing. If they see infidelity, they’ll end up doing it. If they see violence or other activities, they’ll do that. When they become bewildered into thinking materialism, egoism and pride in the material body are the ultimate goal, they become more body conscious and egotistical. All these things strangle the creeper of devotional service and make one’s devotional life more or less null and void.
The solution is the plug-stoppers of acquiring a taste for reading Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and chanting Hare Krishna. By regularly doing these one will naturally develop a taste for doing more. This in turn will give the spiritual strength needed to resist the social pressures from those that have no taste and wish to be sinful. A devotee will then be able to continue their spiritual journey with a clear conscience.

GBC meetings in Ujain, India (Album with photos)
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: The GBC meetings have just started in Ujjain. Here are …Read More…

Vaishnava marriages in Kyiv, Ukraine (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The names of the Lord and the Lord are non-different. So Lord Krishna’s instructions to Arjuna to “remember Me” and Lord Caitanya’s injunction to “always chant the names of Lord Krishna” are the same instruction. (Bhagavad-gita, Introduction)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/JtVAZf

Harinama in the public square Plaza Lva Tolstoho of Kyiv, Ukraine (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: We have seen many philosophical speculators. They simply talk in the meetings and that’s all. And if we examine their private character it is less than ordinary. A person may be a nice speaker but will that help you in your spiritual realization? On the other hand, if you chant Hare Krishna, it will give you immediate results. (Lecture 1968, Los Angeles)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/pHn3iw

Beautiful Iskcon Temple Ujjain (Album with photos)
Giridhari Swami: Bhakti Charu Maharaja has developed an amazing project here, as you will see from the photos. When I tried to praise him this morning for this extraordinary accomplishment, he smiled and said, “All glories to Srila Prabhupada.”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EGc13y

H.G.Srutakirti Prabhu in a recent SB class, in Vrindavana, narrates pastimes with Srila Prabhupada (video)
Once some of his disciples were talking lightly about the faults of their godbrothers in a room next to that of his Divine Grace without being aware that he was listening. After a while, Srila Prabhupada appeared and told them: “This kind of gossip destroys your Krishna consciousness!”
Srila Prabhupada was never pleased to hear criticisms and negative talk.
During a morning walk, some other disciples were complaining about similar issues, Srila Prabhupada stopped, turn towards them and said: “You have come only to discourage and I have come to encourage!”
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/XnrffU

New York Supreme Court Declares Historic Decision in favor of Hare Krishna Movement.
New York Supreme Court Justice Randi Sue M…Read More…

Srila Prabhupada and Lord Venkateshwara.
Yadubara das: Srila Prabhupada stayed in Tirupati for three days, and the highlight of…Read More…

Preaching program in Tirana, Albania’s capital city (Album with photos)
Ananda Tirtha: We had a really, really wonderful six days in Tirana, Albania. The city is pleasant. People are super pleasant. We managed to sell 500 books. Bhakti-grantha and Nayananda Prabhus distributed almost all of them. I managed to meet up with the Indian consul in Tirana, a man in his 60s with moist and lively eyes, a successful businessman of a warm and unassuming nature. He helped us with our mission. I gifted him a copy of the Sri Isopanisad in Albanian, a copy of the Bhagavad-gita in English, and a copy of the Atma magazine in Albanian. We also met a vibrant woman, a yoga teacher, who without thinking twice invited us to give a lecture at her studio. That proved to be a great gathering. One of the men in attendance even offered his help to initiate an Iskcon center in Tirana and translate the Bhagavad-gita into Albanian. We look forward to our next visit to Tirana.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/y1PvWC

Every Picture Tells A Story In Beautiful Vrindavan During Kartik (Album with photos)
The Evening Programme in Iskcon’s Krishna Balaram Mandir On The 5Th Of October.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/PW8dE5

Dauji, The Older Brother! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Dauji is a name for Lord Balarama meaning ‘older brother.’ It is also the name of a village in greater Vrindavan, where a very ancient deity of Lord Balarama is worshiped with great love and devotion by the citizens. It’s one of my favorite places in all of Vrindavan. Yesterday we took our parikrama party of 350 devotees to Dauji to see Dauji!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/evTxb9

Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple Damodar AartI Darshan 5th October 2017 Live from ISKCON Chowpatty (14 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/xosMMq
After He had snuggled into Yasoda’s embrace, Krsna had become both the victim of neglect and the beneficiary of bliss. It was an extraordinary experience, one that He continued to enjoy until His rebellious mind thought,
“She has left Me for some milk.”
Following the experience of separation came thoughts of being neglected, and from those thoughts emerged corresponding feelings that stoked the anger of love. Burned thus by the fire of indignation, Krsna boiled like a baby-volcano.
Mother Yasoda was also a beneficiary of a similar but even more intense sweetness.
Upon feeding Krsna she had tasted the heavenly nectar of His touch, and when she put Him down she drank the abysmal poison of His absence. But as she rushed to save the boiling milk, her ecstasy amazingly increased step by step. Like Krsna, she too was intoxicated by the love of separation. However, because He was the object of love and she the subject because He was unlimited and she limited, her pleasures, both nectarean and poisonous, were a hundred times greater than His. So when divine love forced Yasoda to rush to the stove, she was so disoriented that in an invisible way Yogamaya had to guide her.
Knowing that His mother’s bliss exceeded His own, Krsna felt further deprived.
“Another injustice!”
Pierced thus from multiple directions, His mounting anger finally erupted.
Although a little boy of three, Krsna was the origin of anger, material and spiritual. The forms of Virabhadra and Nrsimha may have appeared ferocious by comparison to baby Krsna, but the fierceness of the anger that He felt was no less than theirs.
In this way, frustration at being neglected, jealousy of the boiling milk, and the injustice of being spiritually short-changed caused a host of bodily symptoms.
His hands clenched and unclenched, His little chest heaved with rapid breathing, and His black complexion became tinged with red. Eyes reddish, eyebrows flitting, and lips trembling, Krsna glared in the direction of the kitchen, bit His lower lip, and vowed,
“I will get revenge.”
Sri Damodara-janani
(HH Sivarama Swami)

Vedic Sociology Seminar at ISKCON Juhu.
‘Varnasrama Dharma is the society of Vaisnavas in their conditional stage.’ (Bhaktivinod Thakur in Sajjan Toshani)
A 3-day seminar on Vedic Sociology was held at ISKCON Juhu under the aegis of IDVM-India on 1st – 3rd of October 2017. The seminar was given by His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami Maharaj. Posters of the event were displayed in the temple premises. Information about the same was also circulated on social media. There was a lot of excitement amongst devotees for the seminar.
The first day of the seminar was an introduction to Vedic Sociology. His Holiness explained that the Vedic Society is primarily an agrarian society and encouraged devotees to lead a more natural life based on land, cows and Krishna. His Holiness also mentioned that cities are supposed to be our preaching bases and villages our living bases. The presentation had many direct statements from past acharyas emphasizing the importance of Varnasrama Dharma. His Holiness explained about the ISKCON’s four movements. His Holiness explained that Srila Prabhupada wanted Krishna Consciousness movement to be not only Religious movement, Cultural movement, Educational movement, but also a social movement.
The presentation was based on Kautilya’s Arthasastra.
The second day of the seminar dealt with another very important topic of Varnasrama Education. His Holiness first explained about the three types of vidyas and then about the five pillars of education. He also explained about the qualities which student and teachers should possess. Maharaja gave the seven pillars of success under the science of politics wherein His Holiness compared the Vedic perspective and their counterpart in a modern organization. Then, Maharaj explained about the char vidyas namely Vedic Philosophy, Vedic Education, Vedic Politics and Vedic Economics. There was an interesting topic about how to determine one’s varna. At the last phase of the seminar on day 2, Maharaja showed an interesting video by Srila Prabhupada on education and politics.
The third day was on Varnasrama Economics. Due to bad health, His Holiness could not present the seminar. His Grace Vishnunam Prabhu, Vice President ISKCON Ahmedabad presented the seminar. Prabhu started with many direct quotes from Srila Prabhupada on cow protection. In his presentation, he shared his own experience with ISKCON Ahmedabad goshala and his experience with the cows. It was interesting to know that milk production could be increased by allowing calves to stay with their mother cow for 12 hours every day. He explained about the animal impact on the land through planned grazing of cows. He also gave few quotes from Vedas regarding taking care of Gomata. He explained how cows help in increasing organic matter of land and thus enables the soil to hold more water. Another interesting point he made was if we eat grains, vegetables etc made out of cow dung and urine, we do not need medicines made out of cow dung and urine.
Devotees attended the seminar in large number. They were very happy to gain holistic vision of Vedic sociology with the seminar and wanted more such kind of seminars to broaden their horizon of thinking. The audience also asked many interesting questions on the topic.
The seminar will be soon uploaded on the youtube channel ‘Varnasrama Media service’. Interested devotees may subscribe the youtube channel to watch full seminar.
Shubhananda Hari Das
To read the entire article click here: https://archive.org/download/VedicSociology/Vedic%20Sociology.docx

Book distribution in Vrindavana.
Kavicandra Swami: This is my God Sister, Radha Kunda dasi. She was Book Distributor par excellence in the 70’s. She inspired me in my early days of book distribution.
She moved to India and helped to establish ISKCON in Gujarat.
She started the Mataji book distribution party in front of Krsna Balaram Mandira. They distribute hundreds of book daily. Note the name tag, made in USA. That is to save time since everyone asks about that.

Bhaktimarga Swami Completes 3,550-Mile Walk Across U.S. for ISKCON 50.
On Friday September 15th, Bhaktimarga Swami, “The Walking Monk,” crossed the finish-line for his 3,550-mile walk across the USA in San Francisco, beneath shining blue skies and rolling white clouds.
It had been two years since he set off.
This wasn’t the Swami’s first adventure on foot. He has walked across Canada from coast to coast four times; and he has trekked across Ireland, the Fiji Islands, Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, and Israel, to promote a more simple, healthy and spiritual lifestyle.
But this latest walk, in honor of his guru A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and the 50th anniversary of Prabhupada’s International Society for Krishna Consciousness, has been the most personally meaningful to him.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/a2cfb1

Vrindavana full of pilgrims for Kartika (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity, the Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. This is the reality of all Vedanta. The chanting of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.” (Narada-pancharatra)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ZhJby4

Presenting Krishna consciousness (Album with photos)
On 23rd September 2017, Gaur Gopal das was invited to speak at SBI – SBICAPs Conclave.
SBI Capital Markets Ltd, a subsidiary of State Bank of India, organized a Conclave, which was attended by senior officials of State Bank of India, SBI Capital Markets limited, RBI and other corporates.
Gaur Gopal das spoke on the topic “Secrets to renew Energy and Enthusiasm.”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/aToDNG

In the month of Kartika one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodarashtakam along with offering a Lamp twice a day. Damodar Ashtakam has been spoken by the sage Satyavrata which attracts Lord Damodara. Very naughty ye…

Kartika Begins! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Today on the first day of Kartika we visited Ram Tal, an ancient holy p…Read More…

Commemoration of Krishna Lunch and the renewal of the University of Florida plaza. Founded by Srila Prabhupada and serving students …Read More…

Request for blessings…
Rajesvari Seva Devi Dasi: Today I’m deeply grateful for my Spiritual Master Indradyumna Swami. He is my hero, my savior, my inspiration, my hope and my leader. Many years ago he gave me a wonderful gift of initiation and The Holy Name. Today I feel very ashamed and humiliated by the fact that I wasn’t able to stay truthful to my promise to chant 16 rounds of Maha Mantra every day. Since my son Vraj was born most of the time I was alone taking care of him. At that point, I started loosing it and today I stand with no sadhana whatsoever. I chant but not regularly and my spiritual life is based on sentiment and kindness of devotees. Today on this first day of Kartik I would like to take a vow to chant 8 rounds every day for the whole month. It will be my step towards creating a habit and proper time management allowing me to get back to my 16 rounds. I truly want that out of respect for my Gurudeva, for the sake of being a person of my word, for the sake of not wasting my life. There is nothing more valuable and sure in this world than God. Please, dear Devotees and friends, give me your blessings so I can develop deep love and attachment to the Holy Name and to be bound to It as Little Damodar was to a grinding mortar.

Beautiful Iskcon temple in Ujjain (Album with photos)
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: We are now at the ISKCON temple in Ujjain, in Indi…Read More…

Journey From Anxiety To Happiness (video)
HH Devamrita Swami’s lecture in the Hare Krishna temple of Melbourne.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/B5PWKb

Raval and Varsana, the two places associated with Srimati Radharani’s appearance and pastimes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, the revealer of the holy dhama! (16 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Ssnq9m

HH Bhakti-Chaitanya Swami’s Srimad-Bhagavatam class from the Iskcon Ujjain Temple during the ongoing GBC Midterm meetings (video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/gdKrCh

Urgent and important!
Kadamba Kanana Swami: I would say that in our Hare Krsna Movement, one of the great causes of devotees becoming dry in their spiritual practices is because they do not get absorbed in reading. You see, chanting is something you do because we measure it – sixteen rounds; it is very clear. But we do not vow to do one hour of reading. We just do not make that vow so we do not give it the same urgency but it should have the same urgency. Reading of scripture is very important; very, very important. If we are not reading, I guarantee you that everything will become stale.

4th Oct 2017, The Economic Times, the world’s second-most widely read English-language business newspaper, did a post-event coverage of PMNC17, where Gaur Gopal das spoke on ‘Conscious Leadership for a Gracious Future.’

Hare Krishna from Fiji, Sigatoka! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When loud chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is perfor…Read More…

“Damodara was not bound by ordinary ropes, but with the ropes of His mother’s unmatched love”
“Because mother loves the most…in this material world, there is no comparison of mother’s love. Without any exchange. Eve…

Unlock your Dharma – HH Sivarama Swami (video)
An insightful discussion on purpose and real duty.
We know we are in Dharma when we cannot think of anything else we would rather be doing with our life. —David Simon
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/h2UDeM

Krsna and His devotee give a helping hand.
Burwood is usually one of the toughest suburbs in Sydney for book distribution. I have been there a few times already. So this time I started pessimistically again, then realized that I need to be positive to start book distribution, so I went on to greet some people. Met a couple of people and had unsuccessful attempts.
Then along comes this Indian gentleman with earphones on, listening to something. I stopped him and asked whether he would be interested in taking a Bhagavad-gita. It was the quickest sale of my life.
He asked me, “Can you guess what I am listening to through the earphones?”
I said I didn’t know.
He said, “I am listening to a lecture by Gaur Gopal Dasa.”
Then he gave me a solid donation, hinting that I should distribute some books on his behalf. The rest of the day turned out well. I met a lot of people with different nationalities who were genuinely interested in our books but had only a few coins to spare. The large donation helped cover the shortages, and I ended up finishing the whole stock on the day. I was disappointed that I didn’t have more stock. I returned back home wondering where that help came from. I determined that I should be an optimist in Krishna’s service.
Your Servant,
Radhika Prasad Dasa

The All India Padayatra In Bovikanam, Kerala (Album with photos)
On September 11th our pāda-yātrā party arrived in Bovikanam, a small village in the Kasaragod Taluk in Kasaragod district, North Kerala. It is located 12 kilometers east of the district headquarters of Kasaragod. We were fortunate to have had assistance from Sanatan Sankirtana Dasa who is from Bovikanam. He walked with us from Kannur all the way to Kasaragod and assisted us during our stay in the district.
In North India Janmastami, the appearance day of Lord Krishna, was celebrated on August 15th but in Kerala Janmastami was celebrated a month later on September 12th. The dates differ because in North India it is calculated according to the Lunar Calendar and in South India it is based on the Solar Calendar. There is a small ISKCON center in Bovikanam and the devotees invited us to join them for the Janmastami celebrations which included: abhishek of the deities, katha, kīrtana, cultural programs and distribution of mahaprasadam. The temple had also organized a grand shobha-yatra held throughout the village in honor of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar.

The next day we performed splendid saṅkīrtana in different areas of the village. There were many Muslim people who participated in the kīrtana and purchased Bhagavad-gītās from us as well. The news of our arrival in the town and the powerful Harinama spread everywhere. The temple devotees were also very happy and said this year’s Janmastami was very special because Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundar was with them.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ZWZ723

Radhanath Swami’s interview about the shooting in Las Vegas in which at least 59 people were killed and more than 500 injured (11 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/SjkQiW

A very pleasant drunkard!
Cittahari das: My uncle, Father Wallace, he was a Jesuit; but he was in charge of the whole of Victoria, so he was the head Jesuit. I said to my mother, “I’d like to get my uncle to meet Prabhupada.” So somehow she got that arranged. My mum was pretty good at arranging those things.
So my uncle came, and we were all sitting around in Prabhupada’s beautiful room on the beautiful blue carpet. Then he was sitting back on the chair, and he was quite an elegant sort of a guy and a very good speaker as the Jesuits are pretty well trained in philosophy. Prabhupada spoke philosophy with him quite a bit, and he seemed to be able to follow the thread of it and answer it, which most people when they met Prabhupada, they kind of lost it. Prabhupada was probing into what they understood and they couldn’t understand what they believed themselves, but he seemed to have some belief himself. Anyway, it went on for about three-quarters of an hour, having a pretty lively conversation but jokey too, a lot of laughter and so on.
Then finally the session was over, and he got up and shook hands and left. We were all sitting around Prabhupada, and Prabhupada was sitting there just kind of rocking a bit. I said, “Srila Prabhupada, what did you think of my uncle?” Prabhupada looked at us all and he smiled and he looked at me, he said, “A very pleasant drunkard.” And that was…we just all cracked up laughing because when immediately he walked in, Prabhupada must have picked up he’d had something. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a regular drinker. He had that kind of look, his face, a bit over-reddish. Yes, it was pretty well strong through the whole order at that time, I’d say, the whole Catholic church. That was the one thing the priests could do, have a good drink. The way Prabhupada could crack a joke was really amazing.