Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Lord Krishna’s Appearance Day at Golokadham Germany 2017…
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Lord Krishna’s Appearance Day at Golokadham Germany 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Pure devotees chant the Hare Krishna mantra, and simply by hearing this chanting from a purified transcendental person, one is purified of all sinful activities, no matter how lowborn or fallen one may be. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.126 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/yrVCGL

Srila Prabhupada Vyas Puja Offering 2017 – ISKCON Pune (9 min…
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Srila Prabhupada Vyas Puja Offering 2017 – ISKCON Pune (9 min video)
In 1965, a 69-year-old spiritual teacher from India arrives in the West and settles among the hippies of New York’s Lower East Side. From a tiny storefront, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami starts a revolution of consciousness influencing tens of thousands in the US and worldwide. This is a small offering made by ISKCON Pune Devotees as a Homage to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami on his 121st Birth Anniversary and on completing the 51st Anniversary of ISKCON. Vyasa-puja is an annual celebration by devotees of Krishna to offer homage to their guru, or spiritual teacher. Krishna says, “ one who claims to be My devotee is not so. Only a person who claims to be the devotee of My devotee is actually My devotee.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/znqL7v

My dear divine Master Srila Prabhupada, please accept my most…
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My dear divine Master Srila Prabhupada, please accept my most humble obeisances unto your lotus like feet.
Citraka dasa: A distinguished astrologer, after studying your personality declared that you were a person capable of building a home in which the whole world could live peacefully.
And as a matter of fact, in due course of time, you did create that house which now exists, open for all. It is like an extension of the original abode of the Lord, Goloka Vrindavana.
It is not a physical space, ashram or farm community. It is a reality existing in sound. It is the sound which originally emanated from Lord Chaitanya and His associates, like the six Goswamis, and was further expanded by your translations of Srila Vyasadeva’s Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita and the rest of the cream of the Vedas, into western languages.

Yes, the sound of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the teachings of the Srimad Bhagavatam are our real and eternal home. The Lord has chosen this way to be present in this age of Kali, in the form of the transcendental sound of His Holy Names. And the whole world can reside there.
The key you gave to enter and live in it is the sankirtan method of being constantly in contact with this sound – by hearing it, vibrating it, individually or collectively, reading it or writing it. As long as all these are performed with rapt attention.

And now, thanks to your sublime service, millions of fortunate souls who come in contact with your blessed influence, are meeting like this the Lord Himself and experience again their relation with Him. Each one according to the humility, faith, sincerity and devotion which masters by his practice of your sacred instructions.

When I think of you crossing the ocean in a small cabin of Jaladuta, suffering repeatedly heart attacks at such an old age, I become overwhelmed by strong emotions of gratitude and love. It is thanks to this heroism and sacrifice of yours that now I am saved.

And then, later, remembering when you had to support a year of struggle in the cold of New York, with no money or friends, or even warm clothes, I am crying for your sacrifice and for the lack of mine.

You wrote: “Vaisnava is never alone. When I first came to the United States I was seemingly alone for one year. But I never felt alone. I always felt the presence of my Guru Maharaja. Myself, I was cooking, I was printing books, I was selling books, everything seemingly alone. But I did not lose my determination. Actually, you should know this, you are never alone.” (Srila Prabhupada letter, December 27, 1974)
With such example, Srila Prabhupada, you taught me how to take shelter of the Lord even in the midst of the greatest difficulties.

Although your body was in such a, practically always, painful condition, you never manifested any symptom of suffering because you were absorbed in a state of transcendental consciousness. You were engaged intensely in your preaching mission while keeping your body’s maintenance reduced to the absolute minimum.
Thank you, Srila Prabhupada, if you hadn’t done so where would I be now?

It is beyond description the benefit that your movement has generated and it still does every single day! Please allow me to present, for your pleasure, a “panoramic view” of your Iskcon as it stands today.

After the unprecedented worldwide celebrations for the 50 years of Iskcon, attended by heads of state and politicians of important countries like UK, India and others, filled up stadiums and venues like the Netaji Indoor Stadium of Kolkata and the famous Sydney Opera House of Australia, with Gala Dinners in Washington D.C. and Houston full with VIPs, Iskcon stepped into its 51th year of its assistance to your missionary work with full enthusiasm for further growth and accomplishments.

The first and most worthy attainment of all is its unity and strict adherence to your instructions. Your Governing Body Commissioners have found the way to cooperate and engage in an ever improving and refining work of legislation for the smooth functioning of your worldwide society.

They also have made arrangements ensuring that in the future there will be a smooth transition to the next generation of qualified leaders with the help of the GBC College for Leadership Development. And there is an ongoing work for the monumental task of writing a constitution for Iskcon.

More than 532 million of your books have been distributed so far and are still being translated in new languages and distributed even in countries where it was unthinkable previously, like China, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan and other Muslim nations!

New ways of distributing them have been introduced by stalwarts like Vaisesika Prabhu, as for example, placing them in Motels or presenting and distributing them in bulk to teachers and students of different schools and other educational institutions.

New devotees are made and new strategies are being developed for attracting, training and guiding them into the process of initiation, like those existing in Bhaktivedanta Manor and Krishna House in Gainesville headed by Kalakantha Prabhu. As for today, there are more than 75,000 ISKCON devotees who have received initiation.

There are also about 2,000 home study (Bhakti Vriksa) groups who meet regularly (consisting of some 30,000 devotees). The worshipers who attend the ISKCON centers annually are calculated to be about 7 million.

Many big new temples are being constructed all over the globe, with some of them being architectural wonders like the one in Ujjain and Tirupati by Bhakti Charu and Gopal Krishna Swamis. Presently there are more than 650 Iskcon temples in over 100 countries.

The superb Temple of the Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur is quickly becoming a reality under the guidance of Ambarisha Prabhu. It promises to be a world attraction making Lord Chaitanya’s birth place famous and known to all.

There are street Harinama parties practically 24/7 in all the seven continents, even in Antarctica where two devotees held the first kirtan and distributed your books there for the first time, placing the Bhagavad-gita As It Is in several Antarctic research stations. There are at least 1,000 public Harinama chanting parties going out on the streets worldwide every week.

Padayatra parties with bullock-carts and Gaura-Nitai murtis keep traveling in many countries of the planet, attracting the attention of the local media and thus creating favorable impressions to the populace. Just for the 50th anniversary of Iskcon 64 of them were performed. To this date, Padayatra devotees have walked 210,000 km on Padayatra Worldwide, visiting 52.000 villages in 110 countries.

Hundreds of Rathayatra and other similar festivals are taking place without interruption all over the globe. More than 6,000 Vaishnava festivals are held every year globally in ISKCON Centers. There is also the mobile Festival of India team which travels all over the US and with its near to perfect equipment sets up festivities for all the temples in that big country.

New community farm projects with cow protection are being set up and the Agricultural Ministry has been created to guide and lead them towards the establishment of Daivi Varnashrama Dharma, headed by Bhakti Raghava Swami. Presently Iskcon counts 65 established farms and eco-villages.

Restaurants are being opened all over the world. These restaurants, other than being a source of income for the missionary activity, have contributed dramatically to create a favorable impression for your movement due to the first class preparations they offer and their reasonable prices. There are 110 vegetarian restaurants run by Iskcon devotees so far.

Free prasadam distribution to millions is going on daily. Just the ISKCON Food Relief Foundation – Annamrita, which recently won a prestigious National Quality Award, feeds 1.2 million kids every day with Krishna prasadam. So far Iskcon has given out 3 billion plates of prasadam worldwide.

There are programs developed for reaching out to all kinds of people. The politicians, the scientists, the celebrities, the university professors and academics, the businessman and entrepreneurs, the prison inmates, the yoga practitioners, the woofers and the youth. Some of the devotees have academic titles, like Radhika Ramana, Garuda, Shaunaka Rishi and Yogesvara prabhus and through their preaching have drastically increased the appreciation of many well-established intellectuals for the Vedic tradition.

Your Bhaktivedanta Institute is still preaching to the scientists with Drutakarma and Rasaraja Prabhus being by now known and appreciated speakers in many science related events.

Sound and safe schools are functioning in many communities ensuring the proper education for the children of the devotees like the Mayapur Academy, the TKG Academy in Dallas and others. Presently there are 54 Iskcon educational institutions, including primary schools, secondary schools and colleges. There are some schools which have gained support from the government, as for example in UK, in which even the Queen of England paid a visit and expressed appreciation for the education given.

A group of qualified devotees has formed the team of Child Protection Office assuring the proper conduct among adults and children within the walls of Iskcon society.

The ISKCON Youth Ministry, headed by Manorama prabhu, is organizing annual bus tours so that the newer generations of devotees can travel together and visit several Iskcon temples, engage in devotional service and associate with advanced devotees.

An other branch of the movement, the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, headed by Hari-sauri prabhu, has taken up the mission of finding and preserving all the scriptures related to the Vaishnava Gaudiya tradition assuring thus their preservation for the future generations.

In many countries the movement, thanks to the tireless work of the local devotees, has been legally recognized by the state authorities, with the status of a bonafide religious institution. Millions from the diaspora of Indians all over the world have accepted Iskcon as their shelter and spiritual authority.

The deity worship in your temples has been enhanced and kept authorized under the guidance of the deity ministry headed by Nrsimha Kavaca Prabhu.
In many temples, there are regular visits from local schools and many students having thus the opportunity to familiarize with the Hare Krishna movement.
Other temples, like Radhadesh in Belgium, have become touristic attractions and they have a steady flux of visiting guests who are given tours and taken care properly with nice facilities specially designed for them.

Arrangements have been made in several places for the care of aging devotees and their preparation for their departure from this world like the Bhaktivedanta Hospice in Vrindavan created by Giriraj Swami.

New books are being written by your disciples and followers, some of them becoming best-sellers, like one of Radhanath Swami, to expand your glory and make Krishna consciousness ever more accessible and known to the masses.

Japa retreats, kirtan melas, specialized seminars are being conducted regularly as also educational courses like Bhakti-sastri and others allowing a deeper cultivation of Bhakti for those inclined.

Many devotees are entering the sannyasa order of life, dedicating themselves completely in the preaching mission of your Iskcon after they have been selected and trained by the Iskcon Sannyasa Ministry headed by HH Prahladananda Swami.

Your followers have become expert in using the media and are producing many high-quality videos, musical productions as also professional theatrical and dancing performances, like the Bhaktivedanta players. Recently a new, professional movie about your life and achievements, “Hare Krishna!”, produced from your expert disciple and videographer Yadubara Prabhu and his wife Vishaka Devi Dasi, has been released and shown in regular movie theaters in the USA, proving to be a big success.

Ever new Krishna conscious paintings to illustrate your books are being produced and several Iskcon Art Museums have been set up for permanently hosting them like the ones in Radhadesh, Belgium, (Museum for Sacred Art ) and Villa Vrindavana, Italy.

All the several divisions of your BBT have been printing huge quantities of your books, some of them destined for specific sections of society, of rare value and beauty like the Bhagavad-gita illustrated, Krishna-art and others. All the printers now are after the BBT knowing well the number of books the Iskcon distributes every year.

The devotees have a strong presence on internet and are using expertly the social media for introducing and cultivating people online. Technical wonders, like live broadcasting of temple programs through the web, allow even those who do not reside close to a devotee community, to be nevertheless connected. Viewers can even make questions and interact with the speaker by calling in, transforming thus each temple program into a television studio, with few physically present and with the majority of the audience attending from home or from their work place.

An other branch of the movement, headed by Anuttama Prabhu, is organizing or participating regularly in Interfaith dialog events, to keep your movement in a proper and balanced relationship among the different religious denominations.

The property trustees, assigned by the GBC, make sure all the properties of Iskcon are held properly, all the legal procedures and requirements are observed and that no abuse of any kind is taking place.

The Vaishnavi Ministry is making sure that ladies within the movement are protected and that there is no possibility of exploitation.
The Ministry of Justice is handling any cases of unruly behaviors within the society and the ISKCON Dispute Resolution Office mediates when there are differences among vaishnavas.

These are the Ministries which are operating within Iskcon to serve your will:

Ministry of Communications
ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry
Ministry of Health and Welfare
Congregational Development Ministry
Vaishnavi Ministry
ISKCON Youth Ministry
Ministry of Sannyasa Services
Ministry of Book Distribution
Ministry of Cow Protection and Agriculture
Ministry of Padayatra
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice: ISKCON Dispute Resolution Office
Ministry of Fund Development
Sastric Advisory Council
ISKCON Property Office
ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection

Thus, dearest Srila Prabhupada, your mercy is being made available in an amplified way, allowing each and every individual to engage his mind, body and words in Lord Chaitanya’s movement and make his life perfect. Thanks to your dedicated disciples, who are acting on your behalf as your personified energies, each performing miracles in his area of responsibility, your beneficial influence is spreading far and wide all over the globe.

Which other movement is endeavoring so intensely, year after year, in distributing this king of knowledge and connecting the unfortunate conditioned souls with Lord Chaitanya, right in the middle of Kali-yuga! All glories to Your Divine Grace!

You wrote: The preacher must love the people. Otherwise why he is taking? He can do it for himself at home. Why he is taking so much trouble? Why in eighty years old I have come here if I do not love? So who can love better than a preacher? (Morning Walk–May 17, 1975, Perth)

And you did demonstrate to love us all Srila Prabhupada by giving us the exact same thing that you were relishing: Krishna-bhakti and Nama-rasa. What could be a higher act of love than this?

With your living example of a highly devoted Bhagavata, that I had the fortune to personally witness, you taught exactly and practically how a saintly personality behaves and how he prepares to leave his body: like an other Maharaj Pariksit, always absorbed in the transcendental sound, talking about Krishna, hearing about Krishna, reading about Krishna and preaching about Krishna.

I bow down to you and offer again and again my heartfelt obeisances and gratitude.
And now let me use your matchless gifts that I have received and make my life successful, demonstrating by example the proof of how your teachings actually work!

Thank you Srila Prabhupada, thank you!
Your aspiring servant
Citraka dasa

Ecstatic August 5th Harinam at Jacksonville Beach, Florida,…
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Ecstatic August 5th Harinam at Jacksonville Beach, Florida, United States (Album with photos)
Every month many Harinams are held at various football games, parades, events and beaches. Jacksonville beach is one such location. Devotees blissfully sing and dance with the sincere drunks and distribute books in the scorching summer sun – often coming back ten shades darker.
Afterwards, everyone takes prasadam at Mother Vishnupriya and Godruma’s home. Sankirtan yajna ki jaya !
(photos by Narottama)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tTq8Zg

Bhadra Campaign (A Part of the GoMatsya Project) brought to you…
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Bhadra Campaign (A Part of the GoMatsya Project)
brought to you by The North American Sankirtan Leaders Team
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.” The purport further elaborates that “One should place Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne because it is the king of all literature.”
This year Bhadra Purnima arrives on September 5th in North
America, and we are very happy to announce the launch of the
Bhadra Campaign – an opportunity for mass distribution of the most revered Srimad-Bhagavatam. Anyone who participates in this campaign will receive:
1. The great gift of going Back to Godhead
2. Special prayers on their behalf on Bhadra Purnima
3. A golden throne on which to keep the Srimad-Bhagavatam
4. A subscription to Bhakti Pulse (a regular 3-minute audio about SB)
5. Their name inscribed on the Global Preservation Wall
There are three ways in which one can become a part of the
campaign – as an:
1. Advocate – Serve the Srimad-Bhagavatam by purchasing at least one set
2. Distributor – Get a set and refer at least one advocate
3. Organizer – Get a set and enroll at least three advocates
Our goal this Bhadra is to enroll at least 108 advocates in North
America. Please join today. Serve the Srimad-Bhagavatam and share the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Give it to your friends, and encourage them to distribute and enroll others. Give the ultimate gift this Bhadra Purnima!
This campaign is a part of the global GoMatsya initiative:
“Preservation through Mass Distribution and
Education.” www.GoMatsya.com
For More information please contact:
North American Sankirtan

Mother Kulangana has passed from this world. From Polish…
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Mother Kulangana has passed from this world.
From Polish origin, Kulangana devi dasi spent her childhood in Warsaw and along with her family, she escaped of being arrested by the Nazis during World War II.
“We were arrested by the Gestapo and we had to leave our house with our luggage. There were so many of us all walking in a long line. So many children too. There was a train nearby and people were getting on. They said that the train was going to a big prison camp. My father had brought one cow with him, and when the leader of the Gestapo saw that my father was a farmer he told him: “Oh, you are a farmer you are already producting something valuable for the soldiers you can go and so we were not put on the train.

When she came to Krishna consciousness she said that she had seen the real face of the material world and another type of life. Her service for Krishna still revolved around cows and milk. She was well known for making the most delicious – and probably the biggest – milk sweets in the Hare Krishna movement. She used the fresh milk from the manor’s cows and lovingly cooked it for several hours to make sandesh, burfi, rubric and pera of all different kinds. She headed a team of ladies that decorated them with delicate paintings and messages to Krishna, and offer them every morning to the Deities and she liked nothing better than distribute them to devotees afterwards.

Sri Mayapur Dham Celebrates the Appearance of Lord Krishna!…
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Sri Mayapur Dham Celebrates the Appearance of Lord Krishna!
Tens of thousands of devotees and pilgrims gather in Sri Mayapur Dham every year to celebrate the auspicious appearance day of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, who is worshipped in ISKCON Mayapur as Sri Madhava. Between fifty and sixty thousand pilgrims come from all over India to participate in the grand Janmastami festival, and as a result, the Mayapur guesthouses are usually fully booked two months in advance. Many pilgrims end up setting up camp outside, not to be deterred from attending this festival and taking the darshan of Sri Madhava on His appearance day.
To prepare the minds and hearts of the devotees of Mayapur for Janmastami day, the devotees are absorbed in Krishna-katha every morning during Srimad Bhagavatam class for the week leading up to Janmastami. The day before Janmastami, an auspicious Adhivas ceremony takes place in order to invoke auspiciousness for the festival to follow.

On Janmastami day, Sri Sri Radha Madhava and all the deities of Mayapur are offered a new dress, and Their altars and the temple are elaborately decorated. Many of the devotees of Mayapur write sweet ‘birthday cards’ for Sri Madhava, and present thoughtful gifts to Him, which are placed at His lotus feet and remain there until the end of the day.

Lord Krishna, during His manifest pastimes, set the example for everyone by perfectly performing the duties of an ordinary human being. Thus, Sri Krishna received all the requisite samskaras of Vedic society, and in Mayapur, all these samskara ceremonies are performed for Sri Madhava on Janmastami day. A young child is selected to represent Madhava, and a qualified husband and wife to represent Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda, who perform the samskaras for Sri Madhava according to Srila Rupa Goswami’s Sri Krishna Janma Tithi Vidhi, a book that describes in intricate detail how to perform the proper worship of Sri Madhava on His appearance day.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Sri Madhava is brought down from the altar and seated on a beautifully decorated throne, and is given a wonderful reception. Priests then start a yajna and perform all of Krishna’s samskaras. They begin with the Jata Karma ceremony, in which Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yasoda perform a fire yajna for their newly born son and pray for His protection. After that, they perform the Niskramanam ceremony, which is performed when Sri Madhava is taken out of the house for the first time, followed by the name giving ceremony, the hair cutting ceremony, and the piercing of Lord Krishna’s ears. Sri Nanda Maharaja goes for a pilgrimage, and upon his return, out of affection he smells his son’s head, which is called Putra Murdhabhighranam. Thereafter, the Vidyarambha ceremony is performed to inaugurate the starting of Sri Madhava’s education. His Grace Jananivasa Prabhu represents Garga Muni, who teaches Sri Madhava to write His first words, and then grants Sri Madhava Vedic initiation and gives Him the sacred thread in the Upanayanam ceremony. Once Sri Madhava receives His sacred thread, He goes out to beg dakshina for His guru, and all the assembled devotees gather around Him and give donations.

Throughout the day, ecstatic kirtan is performed for Sri Madhava, leading up to His grand Maha Abhisek ceremony, which takes place at 10 pm and continues until midnight.

For His abhisek, Sri Madhava along with Srimati Radhika comes down from the altar, and They are opulently welcomed and are then bathed with numerous items. They are bathed with Panca-gavya – the five sacred items from a cow – and are then bathed with milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and sugar water, which are known as the five nectars. They are also bathed with seasonal and colourful juices, from fruits such as mangoes, grapes, pomegranates, oranges, watermelons, and papayas. Water scented with saffron, rose, aguru, musk and kusha grass is also used to bathe Their Lordships, and fragrant flower waters made with flowers such as rose, bakul, lotus, jasmine, and gandharaj. Radha Madhava are also bathed in coconut water and are given two kinds of showers: Sarva Aushadi and Maha Aushadi, which use natural medicinal and herbal substances to bathe the Lord. After being bathed in these various substances, sandalwood paste is applied and then washed off of Radha Madhava’s forms with a steady shower of pure Ganga water.

Once the Lord’s elaborate abhisek is completed, Their Lordships are dried, and They are then showered in flower petals before They return to the altar to be dressed in fresh clothes.

The devotees of the community, with much love and devotion, cook over 400 preparations to offer to Sri Sri Radha Madhava for Their grand bhoga offering. Once Their Lordships have honoured the preparations offered to Them, the altar opens and Sri Sri Radha Madhava give a breathtaking darshan in Their new night outfit, and at midnight a Maha Arati is performed while all of the assembled devotees engage in an ecstatic kirtan.

Once the deities retire for the night, an anukalpa feast is served to everyone, and the blissful day of festivities comes to an end.

All glories to Sri Krishna Janmastami!

Your servants,
Mayapur Communication

Tulsi Gabbard: Janmashtami Message 2017 (3 min video)When…
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Tulsi Gabbard: Janmashtami Message 2017 (3 min video)
When someone has a birthday we try to please the person whose birthday we’re celebrating. Maybe we buy them some presents or bake them a cake, we try to do something for them that will make them happy. Likewise, on this very wonderful day of celebrating Lord Shri Krishna’s appearance, we should consider what we can do that would be most pleasing to Him.
The Supreme Lord is the owner and controller of everything, there’s nothing that He is lacking. He doesn’t need anything from us but there’s one thing that He wants from us: our love! This is the one thing that we have to offer that makes Krishna very happy! Our love can only be offered as an expression of free will. Love can’t be taken or forced, that’s not the nature of love. Five thousand years ago Lord Krishna appeared on this planet in His original form. He came for many reasons. He came so that we could come to know of the absolute reality of His existence, He came to display His wonderful pastimes and loving exchanges with His devotees.
He came to speak the Bhagavad-gita which is His personal and direct instructions to each of us and as we hear about Shri Krishna and His wonderful pastimes and become more attracted to Him something wonderful happens. The love that we begin to experience for the Supreme Lord attracts Him to us and He begins to reveal Himself to us more and more! This is the ultimate truth that Shri Krishna reveals to us in the Bhagavad Gita.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Fdee6T

41st Los Angeles Ratha-yatra Slideshow. On August 6th, 2017,…
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41st Los Angeles Ratha-yatra Slideshow.
On August 6th, 2017, the 41st Los Angeles Ratha-Yatra, with Their Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi, each on their own chariot, came out from the Temple to spread Their Mercy to thousands of conditioned souls.
This year, led by an elephant, the parade kicked off the transcendental activities for a most ecstatic day of chanting, dancing, feasting and distributing thousands of books and thousands of plates of prasadam.
This slideshow shares a glimpse of the devotees loving devotional service to the Lord. Please turn up the volume and relish the transcendental sounds of the Jagannathastakam as the Festival of the Chariots shines its light on the beach cities of Santa Monica and Venice.
Jai Jagannatha! Jai Srila Prabhupada! http://cindikphotography.zenfolio.com/p619752361/slideshow Your servant, Dvarakarani Devi dasi
(Note: It was an inflatable elephant in case you’re wondering. It was on a cart with a sound system playing the roaring of an elephant.)

The “Largest Iskcon Temple In The World” – Being…
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The “Largest Iskcon Temple In The World” – Being Built In Columbus Ohio.
It is the desire of ISKCON Columbus and associates to be a place where all are welcomed, connected to Krishna, encouraged to grow in devotion to Him, enabled to practice Krishna consciousness based on the teachings of Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and equipped to propagate Krishna consciousness.
After completing the schematic design and receiving permission from the county, we are in our fund raising phase. This prospectus here: https://goo.gl/UCR8hH
and our website: www.iskconcolumbus.com says it all.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is – The First Book App by the BBT The BBT…
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Bhagavad-gita As It Is – The First Book App by the BBT
The BBT has ventured into the world of Book Apps, and their first release is stunning. “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” is now available for iOS 9.3 and higher (iPhone, iPad, iPod).
Produced by the North European BBT, it is the only stand-alone Book App containing the full text of Srila Prabhupada’s “Bhagavad-gita As It Is,” including the complete art work from the first and second editions, and a selection of photos of Srila Prabhupada.
This Book App is unique in its ease of access; it keeps the Bhagavad-gita constantly at your fingertips. Plus it gives you the flexibility to read in any format you desire: Sanskrit verses, transliterations, translations, purports, or any combination you choose!

The App allows you to make notes, use bookmarks, and modify settings for enhanced readability. Wake up (or go to sleep) to a Gita verse with the Verse of the Day feature on the home-screen of your iOS device. Each App user’s daily verse is unique to his or her device.

The App is currently available in Russian and English, with French and German versions on the way (included in future free updates).

Staying in touch with the “Bhagavad-gita As It Is” has never been so fun and easy!

Download the App today at the App Store – search for “Gita as it is”, or at:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is/id1080562426

and spread the word by ordering your professionally pre-designed promotional cards at info@bbtbooks.org.

And please remember to give us your feedback through the App.

The Importance of Reading Srila Prabhupada’s books…
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The Importance of Reading Srila Prabhupada’s books (video)
Class by HH Candramauli Swami, Aug 10, 2017, Iskcon Chicago Sri Kishore Kishori temple.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/MwZtWq

Yamuna remembers: Sankirtan in Surat
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Yamuna remembers: Sankirtan in Surat.
“So there was one nagar sankirtan in Surat that struck me in the heart just like lightning. It was the culmination and fulfillment of Srila Prabhupada’s words. Read More…

Hara, Krishna and Rama. Vaisesika das: Our life and its…
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Hara, Krishna and Rama.
Vaisesika das: Our life and its situations are like a most delicate egg that may break at any moment.
“When an egg breaks by external power, life ends. When an egg breaks by internal power, life begins …” (Persian saying; provided by Homa Ashkaveri.)
A bhakti yogi therefore, stays always carefully fixed under Krishna’s internal power by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.
Sheltered by – Hare, or Radharani – the internal power of the Lord, the bhakti yogi is nourished amidst even the most severe circumstances and reversals in his or her life.
On the other hand, one who, by default, takes shelter of Krishna’s external power – Maya – suffers hopelessly.

Srila Prabhupada explains the difference between Krishna’s internal (superior) and external (inferior) powers and the means by which one may remain securely under Krishna’s internal, or superior power:

“The word Hara is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Krishna and Rama mean the supreme pleasure, and Hara is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, changed to Hare (Hah-ray) in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy of the Lord helps us to reach the Lord.

“The material energy, called Maya, is also one of the multi-energies of the Lord. And we the living entities are also the energy, marginal energy, of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior energy, called Hara, it is established in its happy, normal condition.

“These three words, namely Hara, Krishna and Rama, are the transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mothers’ presence. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the Lord Fathers’s grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely.” (KC The Topmost Yoga System.)

Janmastami is coming up…
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Janmastami is coming up!
Kadamba Kanana Swami: Janmastami is coming up… we celebrate the appearance of Lord Krsna in this world. Remember that this week is especially a week for serving Krsna, and the more we do so then the more Krsna will revea…

“Change Inside to Change Outside” (5 min video)If…
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“Change Inside to Change Outside” (5 min video)
If you try to improve your outside world without improving your inside world it won’t work!
We try to achieve something and we do all the steps properly but we don’t change our attitude, we don’t change our consciousness, we don’t change our beliefs and therefore although we’re working externally internally we’re working against ourselves!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/3hKCmy

Lika Camp, Croatia 2017 (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada:…
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Lika Camp, Croatia 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Haraye namah krsna yadavaya namah, gopala govinda rama sri-mudhusudana. This is another way of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. The meaning is as follows: “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. He is the descendant of the Yadu family. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Gopala, Govinda, Rama and Sri Madhusudana.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 25.64 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/KEPWdJ