Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Truth and Power. Ananda Vrindavaneswari Dasi: There are big…
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Truth and Power.
Ananda Vrindavaneswari Dasi: There are big truths and small truths and truths that are true just for some and not for others.
There are also absolute truths – those that are for everyone. Dying is one of those. Old age another. No matter what we call them or how we try to avoid them, they come with the territory of the world.
These absolute truths, shared by all of us, are also powerful. Power, by this definition, is something that is stronger than us and can control us. Besides things like time and death, we also have mother nature that is super powerful, and even certain animals and people. A tiny mosquito has power that can kill us with a malaria-ridden bite!
To bring it closer to home, our own body has a certain amount of power. We recognize that our mind, senses and false ego, can madden, sadden, and bewilder us. They pull us here and there and everywhere in our search for happiness and yet at the end of the day often leave us feeling empty and alone.
For a better life, the practice of bhakti invites us to speak truth to power on a regular basis. Any material power, no matter how powerful, can be put into perspective by daily spiritual exercise.

The first truth is that we, as spirit souls, are something completely separate from our body and mind. We need not be defined by the experiences of our life. The soul cannot be burned by fire, withered by the wind, nor cut to pieces by any weapon. We are, happily, something untouched by this material body and the world around us.

We can speak that truth to any and all material power. Prabhupada said it many times and he would return to this truth again and again in his writings and lectures – “We don’t talk of any religion. The material consciousness should be changed into spiritual consciousness. That is our propaganda. It is meant for Hindu, Muslim, Christian, anyone. White, black, yellow, everything. Because it is the function of the soul. Soul is not black, white, yellow. Soul is spirit. So one has to realize that “I am spirit soul. I am not Indian nor American nor Englishman nor German nor white nor black. This is my bodily description. I am not this body.” This is the beginning of spiritual understanding.”

Life is messy and understanding it and all of its complexities can take a lifetime. With essential spiritual truths in our pocket, we can cut to the chase and stand tall against the weather patterns of our material karma. It is a truth that is both powerful and kind. It is the truth of the soul.

TOVP: Srila Prabhupada’s murti (Album with…
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TOVP: Srila Prabhupada’s murti (Album with photos)
Ambarisa Das: Locan das prabhu, famous Iskcon sculpture, has been engaged by the TOVP project to make the life size murti of Srila Prabhupada for the Vyasasana in the new temple. This is the work so far. We wanted to capture Srila Prabhupada’s love, compassion, and wisdom. I think it is awesome!!!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hDMGCT

Appreciate now! Vaisesika Das: After someone dies, friends and…
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Appreciate now!
Vaisesika Das: After someone dies, friends and loved ones suddenly remember the deceased person’s good qualities, how important the person actually was to them, and so on.
“You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.”
Because this world is unpredictable, one should personally appreciate people while one has the opportunity.
Don’t wait.
Appreciate now.
“Your appreciation of devotees like Upendra and Ananda is super excellent. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught us this lesson—one who appreciates a sincere devotee is eligible to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Srila Prabhupada letter to Mr. Windisch, 21st March 1969)

Hallowed Be Thy Name (audio interview)BBC Radio: Musician…
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Hallowed Be Thy Name (audio interview)
BBC Radio: Musician Jahnavi Harrison explores why chanting the name of God can be such a powerful devotional practice.
Drawing on her own Hindu tradition, she recalls hearing her parents chanting and how important it became to her from an early age. “The name of God,” she explains, “is said to be the panacea for whatever ails the mind, body and soul. It was the ever present soundtrack to my life – night, day, birthdays, funerals, weddings and road trips.”
Her experience at a Christian school also showed her that other religious traditions say and sing the God’s name. She notes that she was “thrilled to discover this common thread, and the myriad ways that this praise was expressed.”
Using the words of the Psalms, the Sufi poets and a number of Hindu saints and mystics, Jahnavi celebrates the power of chanting in different ways and locations and, alongside the music of Vivaldi and Rachmaninov, she relishes in the most famous of all Hindu songs, My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, who is quoted in the programme:

“My idea was to sneak up on them a bit. The point was to have the people not offended by ‘Hallelujah’ and, by the time it gets to ‘Hare Krishna’, they’re already hooked.”

Presenter: Jahnavi Harrison
Producer: Michael Wakelin
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.

Edinburgh Rathayatra, UK – 21st August 2017 (Album with photos)…
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Edinburgh Rathayatra, UK – 21st August 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Chanting involves the activities of the upper and lower lips as well as the tongue. All three must be engaged in chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. The words “Hare Krishna” should be very distinctly pronounced and heard. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 17.3 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/XBLxsg

The Sparkle In Their Eyes (10 min video)Indradyumna Swami:…
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The Sparkle In Their Eyes (10 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Every samkirtan devotee knows the joy of sharing Krsna Consciousness with others. This video shows that joy first hand. All glories to the public chanting of Sri Krsna’s sweet holy names!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/53jsMU

Rising and Shining with Hare Krishna Mahamantra in school…
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Rising and Shining with Hare Krishna Mahamantra in school morning assembly (1 min video)
Morning assembly in this school with the chanting of Mahamantra gives students a chance to connect with the Lord, and begin the day with a feeling of gratitude and spiritual rejuvenation. Through Kirtan, students learn the value of collective prayer and are exposed to the need to inculcate spiritual and ethical values.
The morning assembly is conducted in every school to help children showcase their talent and ensure a robust start of the day. They are also guided to the path of spiritualism through educational talks organized by school authorities.
Meditation and Kirtan form an integral feature of the morning assembly in this school in New Delhi.
Your Servant
Kanika Khanna
School Teacher
& Member, IGF
ISKCON Punjabi Bagh
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/UuhzKU

More never-before-seen picture of the devotees and Srila…
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More never-before-seen picture of the devotees and Srila Prabhupada ​in New York from photographer Carole Teller in the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Image Archive​.​http://www.archive.gvshp.org/items/show/1506ht…

Photos from Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Day 2017 at…
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Photos from Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Day 2017 at ISKCON-London.
Please find below photos from Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance Day 2017 at the ISKCON-London Radha-Krishna Temple.
Harinama sankirtan and an Abhishek were also performed.
Slideshow (please turn on sound): https://goo.gl/6dtdiR
Gallery: https://goo.gl/KBPbCT
With best wishes, Hare Krishna, David.

In a few days is the appearance of HH Sri Srimad Gour Govinda…
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In a few days is the appearance of HH Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami.
This book is a free download. We offer it free as a gift for Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami’s Vyasa Puja.
This is the link: http://tvpbooks.com/2017/05/the-exalted-bhakta-bhagavata/

Vaishnava Songs App. A Music App for Devotees. Vaishnav Songs…
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Vaishnava Songs App.
A Music App for Devotees.
Vaishnav Songs gives you instant access to all devotional songs.
Just hit play to stream anything you like.
Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q-R-vxhfhk
As every non-devotee has some kind of music app, we’ll have one for devotees too! It will help us to murmur and remember more Vaishnav bhajans which can be sung now and then. We are all very grateful to our great Vaishnava acharyas for compiling such nice bhajans for us.
This app will definitely add an extra bit to our devotional practice.
Download it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krishna.vaishnavsong
Happy listening Vaishnav Bhajans!

Iskcon Silicon Valley – Srila Prabhupad’s Vyas puja 2017…
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Iskcon Silicon Valley – Srila Prabhupad’s Vyas puja 2017 (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/t2jwKS

The glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita.I…
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The glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita.
I am your servant Sri Bhakti Das from Chile, please accept my humble obeisances. I hope you are fine.
I would like to share with you a recent ORISSAPOST newspaper article (Indian Newspaper from Orissa).
I spoke about the glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita, the greatness of Srila Prabhupada’s legacy, our service in Chile, etc.

Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja Celebration – Offerings by devotees,…
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Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja Celebration – Offerings by devotees, ISKCON Vrindavan (video)
The offering of Gunagrahi Swami.
Watch it here: https:/…Read More…

Becoming Krishna conscious. Srila Prabhupada thoroughly explains…
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Becoming Krishna conscious.
Srila Prabhupada thoroughly explains the simple technique of becoming KC. This is so relevant for all householders:
“So our life should be so formed that in our every activity there will be God consciousness. That is the technique of yoga-sthaḥ. You haven’t got to separately being seated in meditation as yoga, generally as we understand. Now, how much you can devote your time to meditation? Suppose one hour in the morning or one hour in the evening you can devote. But if you mold your life in such a way that always, twenty-four hours, you are in meditation, that is the platform of yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi. I am earning for the Supreme Lord. Then, when I earn, I bring things for cooking, I am thinking, “Oh, this thing will be cooked for Lord.” Now, your wife cooks, and she is also very clean because it is being cooked for Lord Kṛṣṇa. You see? Now, as far as I am concerned here, I also cook myself my food and offer to Kṛṣṇa, and therefore I ask my friends that unless it is offered to Kṛṣṇa, you please do not take it. You see? Sometimes I see that in your country, while cooking, they taste. They taste. But I request them that don’t taste before the cooking is finished. After cooking is finished and when it is offered to the Deity, then you take as much as you like, as much as you like. So that means there is God consciousness, that “This thing is being cooked for the Lord.” The cooking will go on. If you don’t think of God, you require cooking because you want to eat. The cooking is there in the program. But if you think that this cooking is done for God, then your God consciousness is there. The cooking you cannot avoid. As a householder you have to cook for yourself, you have to cook for your children, you have to cook for somebody else or for your own self. Just like I am cooking. I have no here family or children, but I am cooking for myself. So cooking you cannot stop. But if you cook with the understanding that “This foodstuff is being cooked for the Lord. The Lord may be offered first; then we shall take,” this is God consciousness. This is God consciousness. But is it very difficult thing? Anyone can accept this. Anyone can do it. It is not… Because your cooking business is not stopped. Simply the mode of thinking has to be changed. That’s all. A small technique, that “I am earning for God. I am cooking for God. I am eating also for God. I am eating also for God.” How is that eating you are…? “Now, because my body is dedicated to the service of the Lord, if I don’t eat sufficiently to keep my body fit, then how can I work?” So your eating is also God consciousness. Your sleeping is also God consciousness. So that is the way. We have to mold our life’s activities. Now, when I think that “I have to keep this body fit for working for God,” so then that is not, I mean to… That is not bodily conception of life. Just like when you think that “My car has to be kept very nicely so that I can take nice work for it,” then you are not identified with your car; you simply want to take some service of the car. Similarly, if you think that “This body is required for acting, for working on behalf of the Supreme Lord; therefore I must keep the body fit to work,” so that is not your identification with the body. But if I use this body for sense gratification and therefore I make my body stout and strong to enjoy sense enjoyment, that is the cause of my bondage.“

Lecture given on Bg 2.48-49; April 1st 1966

Downtown Miracle (1 min video)
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Downtown Miracle (1 min video)
Standing on a corner surrounded by giant skyscrapers, men and women in business suits, cars honking their horns, and the scattered homeless people, we felt a bit peculiar handing out the Bhagavad Gita to all onlookers. In such a situation, the only thing we could do was simply pray for a miracle. I was accompanied by veteran book distributor Bhrgupati Prabhu, and although the environment was bitter and harsh, his association kept me clear headed and healthy. As we were showing this golden book to all the busy and fast walking pedestrians in search of monetary wealth, we were met with overwhelming rejection. It was at this time that our prayer got deeper, and Krishna began to unfold a wonderful event I will remember endlessly. What happened next was a clear example of the Supersoul intervening and leading a person to the right path.
Standing at our crosswalk, the light turned green, and on came a new flow of foot traffic towards our direction. Suddenly, one young male student began to slow and stop in the middle of the intersection in disbelief. As he moved closer, he began to jump up and down in great excitement! As he proceeded towards our book display, he grabbed the Bhagavad Gita from our hands, held it up triumphantly high, and began shouting, “Oh My God! This is It!” My partner and I looked at each other with great happiness to know something extraordinary was getting set to unfold. We proceeded to ask the male student, “I’m guessing you’ve heard of this book! Please tell us why you’re so excited, because it’s making us excited!” He then began to reveal his amazing story. To summarize, just two days ago, this young male student began to meditate, until he reached a state of what he called “trance”. In his tranquility, he suddenly heard two words which he has never heard before: “Bhagavad Gita”. This caused him to open his eyes immediately, search on Google for these same words, and he came to know of an ancient spiritual text written over 5,000 years ago. Now he was determined to find this divine literature, and through God’s arrangement, we happened to greet him with effulgent treasure less than 48 hours later.
Sometimes we may not feel like going out on book distribution, but just know Krishna can empower you in many special ways, and lead you to the most amazing experiences. I’ve attached a short video clip of the interaction. The male student was so shy and shocked that he could hardly speak, so his female friend, who also got The Bhagavad Gita, shared the story.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
YS,
– Jaya Chaitanya Dasa

‘Chaitanya Charitamrita’ morning class by HH Bhakti…
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‘Chaitanya Charitamrita’ morning class by HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami in Iskcon London (23/07/2017) (video)
Krishna’s impersonal conception – ‘Enigmatic or obvious’
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/b7duTq

This year the youth of Bhaktivedanta Manor, UK, put together a…
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This year the youth of Bhaktivedanta Manor, UK, put together a superb drama ‘Something Spiritual – The Story of Krsna’s Birth’. If you missed it or weren’t able to join us… here is the link to see it!

Janmastami celebrated at ISKCON Gaya. On 15th August, Janmastami…
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Janmastami celebrated at ISKCON Gaya.
On 15th August, Janmastami was celebrated at ISKCON Gaya (Bihar) campus very gorgeously. More than 10,000 people attended and enjoyed bliss in whole day program. Special cultural program at evening started with Aarti at 7 pm followed by a drama entitled ‘Advent of Krishna’. A lecture was delivered by Jagdish Shyam Das (Manager, ISKCON Gaya). He said if we celebrate this type of festival for the pleasure of Krishna, people will remember Krishna more, which is solution to all permanent problems. He also said if Krishna is satisfied then whole universe will be satisfied. Musical kirtan and Krishna bhajan was performed by a devotee team from Vrindavan in which some Russian devotees were present. MLA Rajiv Ranjan, DPS chairman Sanjeev Kumar, some big business personnel like Mr Shiv Kailash Dalmiya, Usha Dalmiyan, Sushila Dalmiyan, senior physician Dr SK Panda and many other respected personalities were the guests of honor in the program. More than 56 ekadasi bhoga items offered followed by abhishek. At 12 midnight Krishna Janma muhurt was celebrated with crackers and cake cutting. The inhabitants of Gaya said this kind of festival is first time in Gaya history as there was not even a moment when they could forget Krishna. Prasadam was distributed whole day.
More than 10k worth Srila Prabhupada books distributed.

On 16th August Srila Prabhupad appearance day was celebrated. Devotees started Vaisnav bhajan at 10 AM followed by pushpanjali, bhoga offering and aarti. Feast prasadam was distributed. At evening temple devotees along with outside devotees glorified Srila Prabhupada. DPS principal Mr Abhishek Kumar and DAV vice principal Dr Anita Sinha were the guests of honor. A play on ‘Contribution of Srila Prabhupada’ was performed….Jai Srila Prabhupada