Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Recipe for vegetarian “Christmas Cookies” (15 min video)
Baking is as much a Christmas tradition as stockings and carols. Fill your home with Krishna conscious Christmas spirit – and sweet-smelling desserts – with our favorite…

Holy Name Retreat 2016 at Govardhan (5 min video)
Video by: Hare Krishna Bhakti Lok
Watch it here:

Marathon book distribution in UK reaches 125.000 books distributed so far (Album with photos)
Sutapa das: I am with the traveling team in Manchester – after a gruelling month there is physical weakness, mental tiredness, and even the vehicles are feeling it (yesterday the sankirtan van broke down). But with some spiritual energy everyone pushes on… between 4 devotees nearly all the books were distributed. Amazing day, amazing people, amazing interactions… we wish it could go on and on…
Manor has reached 100,000 registered books (actual estimate is around 125,000!). Its a mammoth effort. The Hay barn, which is the temporary marathon storage, is gradually emptying out. Its a satisfying sight.
Last few days to contribute something to the “final offering”.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/IeqVZ3

Joy of Krishna Consciousness (8 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: If there is some discrepancy anywhere, some non-cooperation, fighting, or if the work is slow or not to the standard, it is to be supposed that the person or persons in charge are not very much attached to Krishna. That means they will discriminate: my engagement is not good, other’s engagement is good, like that. They do not know the secret of surrendering to Krishna. Such surrendered devotee sees that everything is part of Krishna’s plan, that whatever is meant to be, I am doing that, so let me do it with my full attention to every detail, let me become absorbed in such service, never mind what it is, but let all other considerations be forgotten and only my desire to do the thing best for Krishna’s alone pleasure be my motive. That is advanced stage of understanding devotional service or Krishna Consciousness. From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to: Jayapataka – Bombay 19 December, 1972
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/8nrsLk

Chief Minister Awards FFLV.
We are pleased to inform you that on the 14th of December 2016, our founder Rupa Raghunath Das, on behalf of Food for Life Vrindavan received the Swayam Award 2016. The award was given by the honorable CM of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav. The award ceremony was organized by Gaon Connection Foundation.
It is noteworthy that out of a total of 650 nominations, Food for Life Vrindavan was amongst the top ten selected organizations. The award has been given to the those that have been working at the grassroots of the society to bring a positive change. The CM said that such organizations inspire others also to work towards the betterment of the society.
Food for Life Vrindavan has been working in the field of girl education, women empowerment and social development for the past 25 years. Currently we have 3 schools that are providing free education, transport & meals to 1300 girls. We also have other projects such as skill training, organic farm, medical camps, free meal distribution, water projects etc. FFLV is honoured to receive this award and it has given us great encouragement. We hope to doing more and more work in this direction in the years to come.

Rathayatra in Calles Principales De Pereira, Colombia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When Lord Caitanya asked Ramananda Raya what is the most painful experience in human society, Ramananda Raya replied that separation from a pure devotee is the most painful experience. In other words, when there is no devotee of the Lord present, there is great suffering in society, and association with other people becomes painful. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.30.6–7) it is stated that if one who is bereft of the association of a pure devotee tries to become happy through society, friendship and love devoid of Krsna consciousness, he is to be considered in the most distressed condition. In the Brhad-bhagavatamrta (1.5.54) it is stated that the association of a pure devotee is more desirable than life itself and that in separation from him one cannot pass even a second happily. From “The Teachings of Lord Caitanya” by Srila Prabhupada
Find them here: https://goo.gl/2UOaAs

Learning Deity worship in Mayapur Academy (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When there is krsna-kirtana, people, all classes of people, become very much pleased, and they join. As soon as your kirtana will be pure sankirtana, not artificial, not professional… There are many professional dancer. That will not attract. But even if you do not know the art of dancing, if you simply dance in ecstasy for Krsna’s love, that will be appreciated by everyone. That will be appreciated by everyone. Krsnot-kirtana-gana-nartana-parau. These are the art. From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on The Nectar of Devotion – January 8, 1973, Bombay
Find them here: https://goo.gl/2s6KGF

Harinama in Poland (2 min video)
In 1967 at ISKCON’S first temple, at 26 Second Avenue, New York City, Srila Prabhupada had just received a postcard from his disciples in Montreal. The city was hosting the World’s Fair – Expo ‘67 – and the devotees were asking if he had any paintings they could display at the Fair. Prabhupada showed me the postcard and asked if we had any. “Well, Swamiji,” I said, “We have a painting of Lord Varaha just finished by Kancanabala Dasi. But I don’t think people will believe it.” After all, the picture showed Lord Varaha, Krsna in His incarnation as a giant boar, holding the Earth on his tusks and fighting with a big demon. The demon was at least ten times bigger than the Earth itself. Prabhupada didn’t care for my objection. Instead, he told me a relevant story about Lord Caitanya. “When Lord Caitanya was thinking of going to Benares, the devotees told Him not to waste His time there. The people there were all impersonalists, and they wouldn’t believe in or take part in the chanting of Hare Krsna. But Lord Caitanya said, ‘If they don’t like what I have to sell, I’ll take it back.’ ” Prabhupada then raised his arms in the air, imitating Lord Caitanya. “So He chanted Hare Krsna and danced and everyone bought it.” He was impressing upon me, as he often did, to present Krsna “as He is” and not be overly concerned about “so-called public opinion.”
From a BTG article by Yadurani Devi Dasi
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/GfFbgC

42 ways to Distribute Srila Prabhupada’s Books.
VERY GOOD TIPS – can try one or few or all…..
Down To Earth Book Distribution (Book Distribution Simplified)
Here are 42 easy ways to Help Distribute More Books!
YOU can.
1. Always keep a small book in your purse, bag, or backpack. That way anytime the conversation goes towards Krsna, you can pull out the book, if even just to show them a picture.
2. Leave books in waiting rooms at the doctor’s office, laundry mat, or any place where people have to wait and can happily read something. Write or stamp inside the book “Please take” or “Free Gift”.
3. Give books to people who come to your house to make deliveries, fix things, etc.
4. Give books as gifts for any occasion, like birthdays, weddings anniversaries, engagement parties, home openings, graduations, etc.
5. Ask local Indian/ Asian market if they will display and sell your books.
6. Donate books to a local library.
7. Ask local health food shops if they will display and sell books.
8. Ask at a local import shop or new age shops if they will display and sell books.
9. Book a booth at any local fairs or events.
10. Lay a blanket on the grass in the local park, with books on top, and sing kirtans to attract people.
11. Sell the books to a used book shop.
12. Approach local book shops about selling the books.
13. Distribute books to co-workers.
14. Give books to family members.
15. Give books to friends and/or classmates.
16. Go to events, where large crowds have gathered.
17. Spend a bit of time in the spiritual/ religious section of any book shop and make conversation with people looking for books on these topics.
18. Go on harinama sankirtana and distribute books to the people who stop to watch.
19. Approach people waiting at bus stands, subways, train stations.
20. Distribute books to shop keepers you regularly shop with.
21. Get a permit to setup a book table.
22. Go door to door.
23. Check for any yoga or similar clubs at your local university. If there isn’t one, start it.
24. Approach yoga centers in your community. Ask if you can display books there or have a program there.
25. Distribute prasadam and display books.
26. Donate books to be put in hotel rooms.
27. Ask an experienced book distributor to take you out on book distribution.
28. When you are travelling by train in India, join the local temple sankirtan party.
29. Make a book distribution buddy. Commit to getting together once a week or so and distributing books together.
30. Ask people working in shops if they would like a book.
31. Approach business owners (especially Indians) and ask if they would like to buy books in bulk to distribute to employees.
32. Start a book table at your University or College campus.
33. Whenever you distribute a book, or even if you don’t make sure to be very friendly and have a sweet smile. When people are pleased with you, they will come back for more.
34. You can distribute books on e-bay, Amazon, or other websites like those.
35. Distribute through flyers: Create and distribute flyers that have the Krishna.com website (or your local temple book shop). Include pictures, excerpts, testimonials, your local number, website, and email.
36. Take people’s e-mails, and don’t “sell” the books, but inform and inspire them to take.
37. Next time you take a flight; just place a couple books in the magazine pockets of the seats. The next group of passengers will be in for a pleasant surprise.
38. Leave books on the magazine tables in reception areas of businesses, professional offices, and other establishments.
39. If you can’t distribute books yourself, help someone who already is for example, you can buy books for them to distribute.
40. Assist devotees who want to distribute books by covering their other temple services etc.
41. You can get a street address listing from some phone companies. You could choose any little town that may never have a chance to see devotees or you may want to take responsibility for a particular section of a larger city. Set aside a small portion of your monthly income and send out a few books each month until you’ve covered your chosen area.
42. Setup a cake sale or cookie sale at work or in the town, for every donation to the prasadam include the cost of the book as a “free” incentive.

Find your Jaladuta!
Driving past the San Francisco airport this morning, I saw a jet lift off the runway and then mystically disappear into the low hanging fog above.
For a second, in my mind’s eye, I imagined the jet’s passengers sitting together in neat rows, each with their own unique destinations and purposes. Each one bought a ticket, packed bags, thrashed about through security, and finally piled on the plane to go … Somewhere.
If we interviewed each passenger on that jet leaving SFO, we might discover some of their motives or obligations: “Earning a livelihood, going on vacation, seeing friends and family, performing some meritorious or nefarious work,” and so on.

Next, my mind turned to Srila Prabhupada and his coming to America on the Jaladuta. He begged the ticket only to endure a life-threatening trip across the ocean. But he too had a specific reason for his journey which he wrote about before his arrival at Boston Harbor, thus:

“Although my Guru Maharaja ordered me to accomplish this mission, I am unworthy to do it, being very fallen and incompetent. That being the case, O Lord Krsna, Your mercy is today arising in a befitting manner in order to make me become worthy, for You are most wise.

“In spite of my shortcomings, O Lord, You have somehow or other brought me to this country just to speak about You. Now it is up to You, my Lord, to do with me as You like.” (Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Lord Krsna & Markine Bhagavata-Dharma)

In the Gita, Krsna says: “Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.” (Bg. 3.5)

But Srila Prabhupada’s travel on the Jaladuta was not impelled by the modes of nature. His hard labor in crossing the ocean was directed by his spiritual master who asked him to perform the service of preaching to Westerners. His voyage was transcendental and will forever stand out in history.

In the Gita, Krsna imparts to us one of the great secrets of life by teaching us how to distinguish between action and inaction:

“One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.” (Bg. 4.18)

A person who moves for Krsna – by following the order of the spiritual master – is in the transcendental position. His or her movements are different from the movements of those going somewhere on their own, to fulfill a selfish agenda.

All the trouble the devotee undergoes to realize the plan of the spiritual master is purifying and liberating. On the other hand, the difficulties I undergo for myself are simply troublesome; moreover, they implicate me in a multitude of karmic reactions.

A fortunate person takes to heart the directive of the spiritual master and then works to fulfill it, however demanding it may seem.

Even Srila Prabhupada said that he could not at once fulfill the order of his guru. But, he took it to heart and engaged in a lifetime of preparation to execute it.

One may not immediately or easily renounce obligatory work. But, one who finds his or her own Jaladuta – and braves the voyage – is the best traveler of all, for he or she will sail back to Godhead.
Vaisesika das

News from Food For Life Global.
Since the inspirational “founding” of Hare Krishna Food for Life when the founder/acharya of ISKCON, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada told his students, “No one should go hungry within 10 miles of our temple,” volunteers have set up projects in more than 60 countries.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/UPE8nC

On the sands of Venice Beach, California… Punyatma Prabhu breaks the current record by blissfully distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books in Arabic to five Saudi Arabian university students, all at the same time!
To see more BBT Far East / Middle East book distribution related photos click here: https://goo.gl/ALSMYQ

BOB HOPE and American ex-president Gerald Ford meet the devotees.
Drumila das: I met Bob Hope twice. The 1rst time was in the mid 80’s. I personally went to the Bob Hope Golf Classic as I was in Palm springs at the time, and decided it would be a good place to go and give stars books. I was walking around with a paper shopping bag full of books that day so as not to be discovered by security and be kicked out (seems pretty silly in retrospect….a paper shopping bag!!).
That day I gave books to a few sport legends like Bobby Or, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds to name a few. I ran into Robert Stack from the TV series ‘The Untouchables’ and tried to give him a ‘Coming Back’ but he wouldn’t take it cause he thought it was from a cult, and his own son had been in one so he had a bad taste. I preached to him for about five minutes explaining to him that we were not a cult, and all the reasons why, at which time he said he would take the book home with him and read it.
Just remembered, I gave a ‘Higher Taste’ to Dinah Shore that day, and she was thrilled cause she had just put out her own cookbook.
Anyway back to Bob. I saw him about to tee off on one hole. So I watched him with about 50 other people, by a roped off area.
When he was done, I said “Bob!” to catch his attention. He looked over at me, and said, “Yes!”(his head perking up and looking gleefully in my direction) and I said “ I have a gift for you!” I handed him a ‘Coming Back’ and a ‘Higher Taste’ upon which time I looked at him and said enthusiastically, “Bob… You’re really going to love these books!!” With a coy grin he looked and me and said enthusiastically, “Am I!? Am I!?” Of course I must have said something like ‘Yes!’ or ‘Definitely!’
The crowd dispersed and I started thinking how I could directly gave a book to ex President Ford who happened to be there that day. About a month before I had given a ‘Bhagavad-Gita’ hardbound to ex President Ford via his security team( he was standing about 25 feet away and they would not let me give it to him directly but said they would give it to him).
Anyway President Ford was at the golf tournament that day, and I was thinking how I could approach him and give him a book directly. So the idea came to me. “Wait a minute I thought, “Bob Hope is friends with all the presidents! He was very friendly with me. Perhaps he could help me with President Ford.”
So I went to the next hole where he was and I approached him again. I said, “Bob, could you do me a favor…( what was I thinking). He immediately retreated, or withdrew as it were from my presence, turning his face away from me in the other direction. I realized I had made a big mistake, and had presumed to much, as I walked away feeling foolish and dejected.
Then a funny thing happened. As I was walking, moping along with my shopping bag in hand, I noticed a golf cart in my peripheral vision, going about the same speed as I was walking. It was Bob Hope driving the cart with the women’s champ from the year before, Julie Inkster. He looked at me and yelled out jokingly, “Hey, what do got in the bag? A bunch of divets!?( clumps of grass made after hitting the golf ball. People collect them for keep sakes.) After saying this they both sped away briskly laughing all the way. To this day I took it that Bob let me off the hook, by speaking to me again, thus, letting me know everything was alright.
Later that day I put down my paper bag(I had that much common sense), and made a bee line right for President Ford just after he tee’d off. His security were momentarily covered over and no one stopped me. I handed him an Origins magazine(our Krsna Conscious rebuttal to the atheistic magazine Omni.) I explained how he cared about the people in the world, and how this magazine could help him in his endeavors to help the people of the world. But he seemed rather put off as he trembled(his arm literally shaking with the magazine in it), as he turned around with a look of disgust and hurled it into his golf cart. He was probably wondering how I got through his security, or maybe he was just adverse to Krsna in the form of the magazine!
The next time I met him Bob Hope was in New Orleans. I overheard someone say Bob Hope was in ‘Pat O’Brian’s’(a famous restaurant/bar).
I went in, and there was Bob, a hundred years old. He was sitting at the table alone(his eyes were drooping and showing the red around the borders) His wife was standing up with 3 or four friends nearby the table. They seemed pretty oblivious to Bob, so I took my cue, and went right up to him and said, “Bob, I don’t know if you remember me, but, I met you at your Classic in the 80’s and gave you a couple of books, and you were joking with me.”
He looked up at me and acknowledged what I had just said. Then I said, “I have gift for you also today. I sat right down next to him at the table, Then I said, “It’s a book called ‘A Second Chance’( it was hardbound). Then I flipped through the pictures, with the Yamadutas and Visnudutas, and Ajamila laying on his deathbed, all the while explaining to Bob the story of Ajamila and how he was saved at the time of death by uttering God’s Holy Name.
As I left him I marveled at the special mercy he was receiving from Krishna in his final days( he died shortly after that) and how kind Krishna was to come to him near the end of his life, and how kind Krsna was to let me be his instrument to give him that mercy.
Srila Prabhupada’s Transcendental Book Distribution ki Jaya!

The history of FATE- Iskcon Museum Project (video)
Adi Deva das: Devotees named Srimati dd and Prabhas das were already working with Milan. Murti d, Bibhavati devi dasi, Madhavendra Puri das, Baradraj das, Rukmini devi dasi, Saptaratha das, and myself joined the team learning how to make clay tools from pieces of bamboo- how to find and dig up sticky clay and sandy clay. We learned how to mix clay with cow dung juice and other mysteries. We began sculpting fruits, vegetables, animals, birds, noses, eyes, ears, lips, fingers, toes, armatures, straw tying, clay application. We created small dolls, large dolls, sanding, painting, wigging, clothing and jeweling. Milan was expert and showed us everything.
On Gaura Purnima 1974 we put on a humble exhibition for Srila Prabhupada’s approval. He told us that we were” not yet expert” and should hire another teacher and continue learning. We hired another older artist who was very generous in helping us develop our skills.
Our group shrunk and the few of us left went to Vrndavana where for several months we created 8 Gopi dolls and presented them to Srila Prabhupada.
Bharadraj das and Rukmini Dasi were asked by Srila Prabhupada to travel to India and lead the project of bringing this dying Art of Putul (Clay Dolls) to the West and create museums explaining our philosophy thru this medium.
My friend Murti das received an inheritance shortly after we were invited to travel to India; so we got the initial paperwork and shots and off we went. Our plane (Air India) had problems; we stopped in NYC, then Kuwait, then Bombay and finally landed in the long cow pasture which was the Calcutta airport. Bhavananda Maharaj picked us up in an old Jeep and drove us the two hour bumpy drive to Sridham Mayapura. Mayapura sits upon the banks of the Ganges River and is a holy place of pilgrimage for saintly devotees from all over West Bengal and beyond.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a small group of devotees from Europe, Australia, and North and South America. I soon realized my new home was the vortex of a construction site. A half built, three story temple/guest house sat one- fifth of a mile from a little used main road. Other temples on that road looked tired and sleepy. Across the road were a series of fields, then the Ganges river, and the town of Navadvip on the other side.
To get from the main road (Bhaktisiddhanta Marg) to our temple in progress we had to walk through rice fields on a mud path about two feet wide; one slip and you were knee deep in mud.
The temple was covered in a web of bamboo scaffolding with many Bengali workers scurrying all over it, as they brought their bricks and buckets of cement. Encamped on one side of the temple in low huts and tents, they were a loud and jolly bunch. We slept in unfinished rooms on the first and second floor; Srila Prabhupada’s quarters and guest quarters on the third floor with sanyasis’ quarters on the roof.
All water came from one hand pump–for our bathing, cooking, pot washing, cement mixing, workers’ bathing–ONE HAND PUMP!
In this video I talk about the letter I received from Srila Prabhupada outlining his vision for the project.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Jr9EvG

Huge Food for Life prasadam distribution organized by the devotees of Iskcon Budapest, Hungary for Christmas (Album with photos)
Read More…

Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk.
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, By Krishna-kripa das.
Inspiring quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books, conversations, and letters. I add a quote by Krishna Himself from Srimad-Bhagavatam. I include quotes from the books of previous acaryas, namely Rupa Goswami and Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Ramesvara Prabhu, who did great service for the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, gave a class after breakfast on Thanksgiving at The Bhakti Center on the philosophy behind book distribution. The class was very inspiring and filled with a lot of realizations, and I share my notes on that. I also share notes on the morning classes at The Bhakti Center given by Adi Purusha, Rama Raya, Karuna Gauranga, Paramananda Gopal, Murali Gopal and Mahotsaha Prabhus, and by Bhaktas Josh and Cesar. I also include quotes from articles in Back to Godhead, Vol. 51, No. 2, by Krishna Dharma Prabhu, Nagaraja Prabhu, Caitanya Candra Prabhu, Nikunja Vilasini Devi Dasi, and Madhava Smullen. I also share one note from an internet lecture by Vaisesika Prabhu, which I overheard.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/7UhnlW

Jagannath Rath Yatra 2017 at Iskcon Pune (1 min promo video)
Nara-narayana: When you came to the Western world, no one anywhere believed that it would be successful, I think. But actually it has become very successful, by preaching. Prabhupada: I myself did not believe I shall be successful, [laughs] what to speak of others. But because I did in the proper line, so it has become successful. From Srila Prabhupada’s Morning Walk – December 12, 1973, Los Angeles
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/2GI8Yr

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya by Tarana & friends (7 min musical video)
One can attain salvation simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.18.7
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/mexdHg

Bhagavad Gita for children ( Chapter 2 Text 59) By Radha Padma Mayapur 2016 (9 min video)
Vaisnava Seva das: Yet another amazin…Read More…

Notes from Ramesvara prabhu’s recent sankirtana seminar at The Bhakti Center on Thanksgiving Day: In some confidential conversations with his disciples, Srila Prabhupada indicated that he was sent from the spiritual world to write his books and distribute them worldwide, much in the same way as the Six Goswamis were.
It was Srila Prabhupada’s genius to illustrate his books with fantastic, colorful, and glorious artwork to attract the conditioned souls to read them.

London was considered the capital of the world because of the British Empire, but after World War II, New York City became more prominent.

Srila Prabhupada envisioned presenting the Srimad-Bhagavatam in 60 volumes of 400 pages each. Most religions have one book about God, and they think that is amazing. In the introduction to the first printing of the second volume of the First Canto, Srila Prabhupada recalls a conversation with someone who found it hard to believe he was producing so many volumes about God. He replied that he was only producing 60 volumes because the puny brains of the residents of Kali-yuga can only take so much. In the higher planets, they have millions of volumes.

Of all of our activities, this activity of book distribution is our most important activity.

Srila Prabhupada gave up everything to write these books, and if we give up everything to distribute them, that will be proper reciprocation, and we will experience a deep satisfaction.

Every embodied soul in every body has a deep-rooted desire to enjoy sense objects. If we had that desire in the spiritual world, it would create a lot of disturbance, and thus Krishna created this world for us. This material sense enjoyment is not this world’s only purpose. Krishna has not forgotten us, and enters into the heart of each body as Paramatma. To come to the human form takes millions of births.

A rich person dies, a poor person dies, a famous person dies, and an unknown person dies. Why should I endeavor for wealth and fame if my end is the same. A human being can question this.

If you are not focused on this philosophy, when you walk out of the door, you will look after one sense object after another, because it is a deep-rooted habit.

No love in the material world could motivate someone to follow his friend in every abominable birth he takes, and thus no one has love like Krishna, who is willing to do that.

Although the souls have attained the human form, they are victimized by Kali-yuga and encouraged to desire like animals, and thus lose their opportunity for perfecting their human lives. When you see with that vision when you go out, that is seeing spiritually. Everyone is part of Krishna like we are and is a family member.

Approaching them, knowing they are our brothers and sisters, although they do not recognize that we are their brothers and sisters, is an art.

The secret on sankirtana is to really care about the people, and Krishna will give the person the ability to see that you really care.

If they get a book, even if they do not read it, they will get a human birth.

If you perform the austerity of trying to distribute the books, although it is not your nature, you will become very dear to Krishna. Krishna sees that you are trying to come up to a soul He has been watching for so many births and get him to turn away from sense enjoyment.

In the beginning it is very hard, but at the end it is nonstop spiritual ecstasy, and that is because Krishna is so pleased that someone is finally trying to turn each soul away from sense enjoyment and toward Him.

We should always think, “These are my brothers and sisters. They are living in a culture that causes them to waste their human lives. I have to give them the opportunity to be delivered.”

Japa is a prayer. It is a call for help. If you pray to Krishna to always give you that sankirtana consciousness, he will do that.

Those ecstasies of sankirtana are waiting for you, like an ocean to swim in.

I cannot describe how dear you become to Krishna if you dedicate your life to connect others with Him.

Q (by Cesar’s father): What did Srila Prabhupada think of when he came to America all alone?
A: This is recorded in his poem “Markine Bhagavata-dharma.” First he thought, “Krishna, why did You bring me here?” For thousands of years in India, the mood was to not associate with such degraded souls. Then he considered that Krishna brought him there for a purpose. And he prayed for Krishna to give him words to say to the people and to make him a success, if He desired.

It has nothing to do with us, but some impossible things occur because Krishna is working through us.

You may think “that person will never take a book,” but Krishna can give you the words to say so he will take a book.

Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Satsvarupa Maharaja one paragraph for me to tell the book distributors. In essence it was, “Because I have sacrificed so much to write these books and you are sacrificing so much to distribute them, we have an intimate and intense relationship, like actors on a stage, and I am the director, and through this the people of the world will be saved.”

Srila Prabhupada said that he liked to work at night because he had to have it very quiet so Krishna could speak to him the translation and purport from within the heart and he could hear it.
Source: https://goo.gl/7UhnlW

Mayapur Institute New Campus Walkthrough. (video)
This thirty five minutes walking tour of Mayapur Institute’s new campus gives you a overview of the upcoming MI Campus at Sridham Mayapur. You can see how the new Mayapur Institute Campus is taking its shape.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Woxcd3

Her Grace Yamuna Devi.
Nirmala Devi: On this day, 5 years ago, our dear Yamuna Devi departed from this world. Daily we carry her with us. Her love, friendship and complete attachment to Srila Prabhupada, has nourished my soul and greatly enhanced my spiritual journey. I am eternally and deeply grateful for her pure association.
If you would like to get a glimpse into this great devotees life, you can dive into her biography, Yamuna Devi, “A life of Unalloyed devotion”.
http://krishnamagic.com/

Plug in to the divine.
Each month, we pay our electric bill to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E).
PG & E sends electricity from their power station through a labyrinth of wires, some of which terminate in the walls of our home. Plugged into an electrical socket in the wall of my room, my computer drinks in this electricity, transforming it, through digital technology, into images and sounds.
This afternoon, as I awakened from a short nap, I heard my computer playing a lecture by Srila Prabhupada; just as I opened my eyes, Srila Prabhupada said, “Krsna is akhila-rasamrita-sindhu, the immortal blissful ocean of transcendental rasa.”

Hearing these words, I thought of Krsna.

Simultaneously, I marveled at how electricity – one of Krsna’s energies – was being transformed – through the technology in my computer – to produce the transcendental sound of Srila Prabhupada’s voice.

The computer is an unconscious machine that I, a sentient being, control. If I had chosen to set my computer to play a song by Beethoven, the very same electrical energy that produced the sound of my spiritual master’s voice, would have stimulated the computer to play a song by Beethoven.

Hearing Beethoven, rather than the voice of my spiritual master, would have certainly affected my mind in an entirely different way.

Moreover, I could have sent that same electrical energy through a radio to hear the news, a ball game, or a nationalistic song like the Star Spangled Banner. Each one of these would have affected my mind and consciousness in various ways.

Krsna’s separated inferior energies – earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego – are activated by the superior energy, the soul.

As a soul, I may choose how I activate the inferior energies that surround me.

Those who read Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-bhagavatam, and who associate with advanced devotees, not only learn how to use Krsna’s energies wisely, they also get the impetus to do so.

Each one of Krsna’s energies can be used in His service; or any one of them can be used for sense gratification. My choice in using them either way leads to my elevation or degradation, respectively.

In the Gita 4.24, Krsna says, “A person who is fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.”

And in his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada writes: “The Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality. Krsna consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme.”

Progressive spiritual life lies in dovetailing Krsna’s energies astutely, by engaging them in His service.

The sensible devotee does not shun the energies of the material world, knowing that they can be engaged in Krsna’s service. The devotee also has no interest in enjoying these multifarious energies, knowing well that they belong to Krsna. Rather, the devotee enjoys a higher pleasure by connecting all energies to Krsna thus uncovering their ever fresh spiritual essence.

Be aware today that all the energies that surround you come from Krsna.

Engage them in devotional service and feel Krsna’s divine presence, wherever you may be.
Vaisesia Das

Malaysia Kirtan Mela 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: There are two ways of association–by vani and by vapuh. Vani means words, and vapuh means physical presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence. The Bhagavad-gita, for example, is the vani of Lord Krsna. Although Krsna was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-gita continues. (Srila Prabhupada: Cc Antya Concluding Words)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EWR5PB

Sunday Harinama in Vladivostok, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Perhaps, throughout the whole world, it is the first time – we are preaching Bhagavad-gita as it is. We are the only institution in the world that we are preaching Bhagavad-gita as it is, and people are liking it. Before that, for the last two hundred years, so many swamis, yogis and…, they tried to preach Hindu philosophy, Vaisnavism. Not a single person was a devotee of Krsna, not a single person. Now you see so many young men. Why? Why this difference? Because we did not present Bhagavad-gita adulterated. Presented as it is, that’s all. What is the use of preaching adulterated things? Srila Prabhupada – April 12, 1975, Hyderabad
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qjKYLN

A rare video footage of HDG Srila Prabhupada (1 min video)
He is interviewed by a journalist in his arrival in Australia.
…Read More…

TOVP: First sample of the iron casting of the grills, fences and railings (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: This is the first s…Read More…

Ludhiana Rath Yatra (3 min video)
Amazing, Astonishing and Aflatoon devotion and enthusiasm for Lord Jagannath.
Watch it h…Read More…

Harinama and distribution of prasadam in Santiago de Cali
City in Valle del Cauca, Colombia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Let us remain in our position, but at the same time, simultaneously, side by side, let us have spiritual culture. Just like we are holding this class. This is also spiritual culture, sravanam kirtanam [SB 7.5.23]. With your multifarious duties you come here thrice in a week and try to understand. This is also spiritual culture. This will not go in vain. This will give you impression. Even you stop coming here, that impression will never go. I tell you the that impression will never go. It is such a thing. But if we take it up very seriously and go on molding our life in that way, then it becomes quickly successful. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.49-51 – New York, April 5, 1966
Find them here: https://goo.gl/dq8u5Y

Festival Sadhu Sanga 2016 in Warsaw, Poland (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Life should be molded in such a way that in every step or action, we shall feel the presence of the Lord. That is spiritual life. That is spiritual life. You need not change your present occupation. … The aim is toward Krsna. … Now, suppose a man or woman is in love, and the man is a third person, beyond the husband of the wife, beyond the, of the woman. Now, it is a example given in scripture that the woman who is fallen in love, the woman of man with other woman, other man, opposite sex. So he may be engaged in so many duties, but his mind is always to that point when he or she will meet his lover. With all his duty, or her duties, during the daytime, she or he always thinks, “Oh, when that moment will come when we shall meet together?” That means the mind is always there. The example is said because when there is ecstasy, when there is ecstasy of love, even within our, within the midst of our multifarious duties, we can remember that thing always. Similarly, God consciousness, we shall have to mold our life in that way that in the midst of our very grave duties, serious duties, we shall always remember the Supreme, the Supreme, in every step. That discrimination, that much love, we have to develop. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.49-51 – New York, April 5, 1966
Find them here: https://goo.gl/6rZNjk

Vrinda Kunda 16-12-16 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: Last week we visited Ter Kadamba and Vrinda Kunda. Near Ter Kadamb…Read More…

Modernization Without Westernization – Reflections on the Middle East’s spiritual potential.
Chaitanya Charan Das: While in a prominent city in the Middle East, I stayed with a devotee whose house was on the seventeenth floor of a skyscraper. During my travels to Australia, USA, Canada and UK, the devotees who have hosted me have had houses ranging from one-room apartments to multi-story villas. But this house was the highest height at which I had stayed. Though I may have spoken at greater heights in hotels, I didn’t have the time to contemplate the view from there.
During the course of the day, while observing the city from the window, I could see the well-organized roadways, the crowded yet orderly buildings, the impressive domes of the mosques interspersing the concrete expanse and the skyscrapers towering above everything else. In several metropolitan Middle Eastern cities, many buildings are designed with exquisite artistry. This view was far different from the aerial view of Mumbai that I would see whenever my return flight would descend in that financial nerve center of India. This view was more reminiscent of the modernization I had seen in the West.
A major difference between the West and the Middle East, however, was the level of public sensuality. Because of the conservativeness of Islamic culture, no immodest imagery can be seen either on the streets or on the billboards. Although I could see some Bollywood actors on the billboards, their pictures were far more modest than those seen in India. The decreased sensual temperature of the culture makes it easier for spiritual aspirants to keep their mind peaceful for practicing spirituality. The phrase that popped up in my mind for describing the situation was modernization without westernization.
Ultimately, no place in the material world is fully conducive for spirituality. What spiritualizes people is their own intention to be spiritual and the guidance of saintly teachers.
Still, the principle of modernization without westernization can significantly facilitate spiritual growth. Srila Prabhupada would compare the spiritually uninformed west to a blind man and the technologically under-equipped India to a lame man. If the two would come together, if western technology could be joined together with Indian spirituality, that synergy could substantially raise human consciousness, thereby helping promote greater peace and joy, both individually and globally. In this metaphorical merger, Srila Prabhupada could be said to be recommending modernization without westernization. And that has been actualized to some extent by ISKCON, which is working to globalize the message of the Gita using the latest technology.
If India at large could implement modernization without westernization, Indians would have to struggle less for getting life’s necessities and utilities, and would have more time and energy for spiritual cultivation.
But then, categories such as modernization and westernization are porous, and influences from one can easily seep into the other. Ultimately the key to our spiritual protection and purification is not our country’s orientation, but our consciousness’ intention.
If we are determined to grow spiritually, we may still have our struggles and lapses because of our circumstances and conditionings. But we will gradually be guided by Krishna from within, as he assures in the Gita (10.10). And with that guidance, we will learn to adeptly adapt and adopt for doing the things necessary for moving closer to him.
Such adeptness is demonstrated by the devotees in the Middle East, who have found ways to grow devotionally even while being far away from their devotional homeland. In fact, during my world travels, I have seen sincere souls practicing bhakti seriously in all kinds of circumstances – western and non-western, modern and pre-modern (and post-modern too). These devotees are living testimony to the reality that whatever our situation, we can always open the door of our heart to Krishna, and he will mercifully manifest his presence there.

Detachment from material pleasures by HG Akruranath Prabhu Recorded on 12-11-2016, ISKCON of Silicon Valley (video)
Srila Prabhupada: Krsna’s mercy is always there. It is your misuse of free will. You are given the opportunity – that is fortune. But you do not accept the fortune. That is your misfortune. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritamrita. Lord Caitanya said, ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. Kono – some fortunate man can accept it. Because mostly they are unfortunate. Just see, throughout the whole of Europe and America we are making propaganda. How many students have come? A very insignificant number, although they have come. They are fortunate. Amogha: Sometimes we see that a devotee may be very sincere, but at the same time he becomes weak somehow, and he falls down. Prabhupada: Even if he falls down, still he is fortunate, because the injection is there. It will act, some day or another. Still he is fortunate. As fortunate man he took it, but he fell down. That does not mean he’s unfortunate. Still he’s fortunate, because the poison is already there. It will develop. That is called ajnata sukrti. Therefore he is not loser. He continues to be fortunate. It will take some time. Amogha: So he became weak because he misused his individual will. Prabhupada: He misused the instruction of his spiritual master. Therefore he became unfortunate, or he fell down. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk – Perth, May 10, 1975
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/q9YkTw

Vrindavan is becoming cold.
Vrindavan Lordships draped in warm clothes to ward off cold.
As winter continues to grip Vraja with its harshness, even the Lordships of Vrindavan do not remain unaffected. The winter ‘seva’ began in the Saptadevalaya Temples from Vyanjan Dwadashi. The ‘Khichdi’ made of varieties of pulses is being offered to the deities.
Not only is a change in their attire and cuisine, there a variation in their routine too with a late rise from sleep and early schedule to bed.
At the various temples of Vrindavan, the priests are adorning the deities with woolen and velvet fabrics while the devotees coming in for the darshan are bringing bhogs according to the chilling climate.
The deities can be seen draped in warm clothes, and a sigari (heater burn from coals) is kept to ward off cold. The temple priests are protecting their deities in various temple of the city by offering woolen blankets and warm clothes apart from arranging hot water and hot foods for the presiding deities.
Various eatable items, which are considered healthy and best suited for the winter season, are being offered to the deities.
Special arrangement for the winter is done at Radha Ballabh Mandir. Peanut gazak, til papdi rolls, Urd daal laddos, moong daal barfis, dry fruits kaju badam, pista and anjeer have become an integral part of the daily offerings.
The devotees can be seen buying the warm clothes for their deities in the markets to protect their beloved from the chilling cold.
Here we see beloved Radha Raman with socks.

Rare old photos of clips from the local press coverage, the day Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur departed from this world.Read More…

Let’s all Hare a great time.
Hare Krishna devotees parading in the Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead on Friday.
Hemeltoday: Our photographer David Satchel was sure to be there when Apsley Community Centre held a Hare Krishna Festival.
The event offered visitors of all creeds the chance to enjoy music, dance and food free of charge.
Giridhari Das, a Hare Krishna monk who heads up the UK Hare Krishna Festival team, said: “Whether local carnivals, theatres or town halls we like to be with the people.”
Source: https://goo.gl/gxbMzC

“I will love you, if you will love me.”
Satsvarupa das Goswami: The first initiation was on Janmastami in 1966 and it was so lackadaisical that people got initiated without seriously considering whether they were going to follow the four rules.
I wanted to stay independent. I didn’t think I was ready to get initiated, and besides nobody had asked me to get initiated. So I stayed home and typed for the Swami.
The day after Janmastami I showed up at his door and he said, “Oh, you did not come for initiation yesterday.”
I said, “No, but I did some typing.” I gave him the typing and he gave me some grapes.
He saw that unless I got invited I was reluctant to get initiated, to go to the morning class, to go to the feasts.
It was a defect on my part and at that time he said something important to me.
He said, “I will love you, if you will love me.”
That statement made a big change in me.
He exposed that I didn’t love him but I was expecting him to always love me.
I thought, “Why am I holding back my love for him? Is there something I dislike about his face or his way of talking or something? I do not love him, but I’m expecting him to pour love on me.”
I looked at all the ugliness inside myself that made me not love the Swami, and I decided that I should kick it out and love him.
He said, “If you do that, then I’ll love you. But it’s a two-way street.”
He read my heart and my mind and exposed my big barrier.
When the Swami said, “I will love you, if you will love me,” that became a good instruction for any relationship, certainly with a spiritual master and a disciple or with a husband and wife.
You have to love the other person if you want to be loved.
His words broke a lot of ice, and from then on I stepped forward more and didn’t have to be invited to things.
He once spoke on the telephone about a wedding that he was arranging between Mukunda and Janaki.
When he hung up the phone he said, “You’re invited to come to this wedding.” I said, “Thank you,” and I went to the wedding.
I felt sorry that I had not gotten initiated, so another day I asked him, “Could I get initiated on the next occasion?”
He said, “Well, you’ll have to be a strict vegetarian.” I said, “I already am.”
He said, “Yes, then you can be initiated.”
The Swami was teaching from Dr. Radha Krishnan’s Bhagavad-gita. He said, “The translation is 98% good. Don’t read the purport at all, it’s contaminating, but you can read the translations out loud.”
Some of us bought copies of that Gita and during our classes the Swami would ask us to read.
He’d say, “Raymond, read the translation for Chapter 8 Text 7.”
We considered the translations bonafide. We also had the Swami’s Srimad Bhagavatams.
We didn’t study them in any consecutive order. They were just there to read and grasp.
I bought a set but some others didn’t have the money to buy them.
I asked, “When you get initiated is your karma stopped?”
He said, “Yes. It’s like the electric fan is rotating—action and reaction, or karma—but on initiation the plug is pulled. The rotations may go on for a little while, but there’s really no more karma.”
—Satsvarupa das Goswami
.Excerpt from “Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint”
by Siddhanta das

Glories of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura by HG Vaisesika Prabhu (video)
Srila Prabhupada: May the glorification of the transcendental name, form, qualities and paraphernalia of the Supreme Personality of Godhead protect us from the influence of bad planets, meteors, envious human beings, serpents, scorpions, and animals like tigers and wolves. May it protect us from ghosts and the material elements like earth, water, fire and air, and may it also protect us from lightning and our past sins. We are always afraid of these hindrances to our auspicious life. Therefore, may they all be completely destroyed by the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. —————————————-Srila Prabhupada’s translation of SB 6.8.27-28
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/mex05x

Disappearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur on 17th Dec 2016 at ISKCON Juhu (4 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: When Lord Caitanya asked Ramananda Raya what is the most painful experience in human society, Ramananda Raya replied that separation from a pure devotee is the most painful experience. In other words, when there is no devotee of the Lord present, there is great suffering in society, and association with other people becomes painful. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.30.6–7) it is stated that if one who is bereft of the association of a pure devotee tries to become happy through society, friendship and love devoid of Krsna consciousness, he is to be considered in the most distressed condition. In the Brhad-bhagavatamrta (1.5.54) it is stated that the association of a pure devotee is more desirable than life itself and that in separation from him one cannot pass even a second happily. ——————————–From “The Teachings of Lord Caitanya” by Srila Prabhupada
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/XvGzQk

Feelings of incompleteness diagnosed and cured.
Practically everyone I meet claims that they are plagued by anxieties or sadness of one kind or another. For instance, a student that I met at San Francisco State University recently, told me that he was worried about the rising cost of tuition. A young woman I met in Canada was sad because her mother had just been diagnosed with cancer. And people everywhere – on all income levels – are apprehensive about the world’s economy.
Angst is in the air, but each person feels that his or her fears are unique.
While recently considering this phenomenon, I remembered the invocation verse from Sri Isopanisad that says:

“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.”

In such a complete world that emanates from the complete omnipotent, all-merciful Personality of Godhead, why do people everywhere (even the materially affluent) feel incomplete?

Srila Prabhupada answers this in his purport to the Sri Isopanisad verse quoted above:

“All forms of incompleteness are experienced due to incomplete knowledge of the Complete Whole.”

The more I learn about Krsna’s supreme opulence, becoming convinced that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the more my fears and anxieties abate.

Krsna is my best friend and well wisher. He is all-powerful and all-merciful. Knowing this why should I lament?

When the sun rises in the morning, I see for myself that the venomous snake I feared in the darkness of night is actually a rope; with the arrival of daylight, I see opportunity, my gloom lifts, and I am filled with hope.

In the Gita 5.16 Lord Krsna says, “When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.”

Recognizing that everyone is suffering for want of this light only, Bhaktivinoda Thakura advises:

“Desiring to bless all souls, the sweet name of Krsna has descended to the material world and now shines like the sun in the sky of the heart, destroying the darkness of ignorance… Take shelter of the holy name as your only business.”

Today, I pray to chant my rounds with my heart fully open to the soothing radiance of the holy name, the completely perfect gift of Sri Caitanya Mahprabhu.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna

Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Gaura Prema Anande!
Vaisesika Dasa