Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Sankirtan Spirit!
Sutapa das, UK: Prayojana prabhu is cleaning and maintaining the temple running… but he puts up a book table outside the shoe room so he can do his bit for the marathon. Now that’s what I call the sankirtan spirit! I’m going over to buy a book from him just to receive it from his transcendental hand 🙂
Mother Kulangana is also right there, encouraging and inspiring the marathon at every step. We are blessed to have such vaisnavas… Their spirit is the fuel behind this endeavor to please Srila Prabhupada 🙂
Three days have gone and we have reached 3,000 books! See the latest scoresheet here: https://goo.gl/pOjHwZ

We have a nice farm in southeast Germany called Simhacalam. Lord Nrsimhadeva is the presiding deity. While taking prasada there, I asked a book distributor, Advaita Simha Dasa, how he came to Krsna.
Advaita Simha said, “A monk in the street once approached me, and proposed to give me a book. I gave a donation and received a book with the title “Science of Self-Realization”. At first I thought it was about a cult, so I was curious to hear what they had to say. But after reading a few chapters I realized that this was very profound knowledge.
A year later I was looking for more books by the same author, Srila Prabhupada in a bookstore. I was with a friend in the shopping area, and somehow we got separated. He then called me to ask where I was. I told him I was in the bookstore looking for another one of those books like the one the monk had given me a year ago, but the store didn’t have any.
My friend said, ‘Well, if you go outside the bookstore you’ll see a monk there. Maybe he has what you’re looking for.’ I went out, and the same devotee that gave me the Science of Self Realization, Gaur Mohan Prabhu, was there! I asked him whether he had more books by Srila Prabhupada.
He had the Bhagavad-gita, so I gave a donation for that. He told me that there would be a talk on the Gita that evening and invited me. I went, and it was nice. Eventually I visited the temple and joined ISKCON. Now I’m also a book distributor.”
Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Never seen a boy chanting in a public Harinama like him! (4 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Since all the great sages and devotees apply all energy and all activities in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, there must be some transcendental pleasure in the toes of His lotus feet. The Lord licks His toe to taste the nectar for which the devotees always aspire. >>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 3.33.4
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/7OBFMl

The 2016, Book Distribution Marathon Begins!
Jayapataka Swami: “Here we are in Mayapur dham, Srila Prabhupada said that Mayapur is the spiritual headquarters. Here, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has descended from Goloka Vrindavan. He was known as Vachaspathi. As Vachaspathi he was the husband of Lakshmi and expert in speaking. He would tell everyone to chant the holy name. In his hand he would always carry shastra.
Those days people didn’t have books, but they were very intelligent so they would realize the Shastra. You know people today are not so intelligent, they have to read the books again and again. Therefore books are very important.
So we are very grateful for the speakers. They have said so many nice things, how we have to serve Srila Prabhupada, how this is the modern day Yagnya, how by doing this Sankirtan Yagnya,it is Raghanuga Bhakti , how we can help the people who are otherwise deprived of this mercy, how Krishna helps every book distributor and how he performs miracles and that story by Hridanya Chaitanya, who were those people ? The butchers! The butchers of the city had a function exchanging presents on behalf of Santa Claus. The butchers, they received Bhagavat Gita and other literature. How Lord Chaitanya is distributing his mercy to the conditioned souls, through these literatures.
In the Shastra it says even if there are some defects we give out these transcendental literatures, spreading the lords special mercy. Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavatam that was the first to be taken to the United States. Srila Prabhupada brought these cases of Bhagavatam and it has such a lasting effect. So, our while community should unite to fulfill this for the satisfaction of Srila Prabhupada. Our sankirtan devotees go out and they meet the people on their own places. So like that they are certainly taking big risks. Some devotees ,they go to Kolkata, some have book table here. Everyone , we should put out our maximum energy. This Sankirtan yagnya is a special way we can satisfy Srila Prabhupada. I am very grateful to the devotees and their efforts in the next months. The Delhi temple has 2500 devotees who participate in the marathon. So we need to also have all our devotees, back up the Sankirtan devotees and distribute books. All over India there is demonetization. So that problem is these for everybody. It’s not only our problem.
We heard how Prabhupada tried to carry out the order of his spiritual master and how he tried his best to please his spiritual master. So we want to please Srila prabhupada , we would like to remember all the lessons given by the senior devotees here and be inspired for the next two months,we are very very grateful that the BBT devotees and Sankirtan devotees are working hand in hand. So before the deities, we pray for their mercy.”-

Bhakti Sastri graduates in Iskcon Juhu.
Mayapur Institute has been regularly conducting Sastric Training Programs at ISKCON Juh…Read More…

Book distribution marathon in UK (Album with photos)
Already more than 2000 books distributed. Below is the Japanese-Chinese Sa…Read More…

Winter in Vrindavan (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Krsna in Vrndavana has got a great family. He has got His father. He has got His mother, Mother Yasoda, Nanda Maharaja. He has got so many friends, hundreds and thousands–boyfriends, girlfriends. The trees, the plants, the flowers, the fruits, the land, the water, the cows, the calves – He is surrounded by a great family. He is not a single person. Suppose if we say, “Now the president is coming.” So president means he is not only coming alone; he is coming with secretaries, his ministers, his military secretary and so many other people, some soldiers and bodyguards. He is not alone. So if a material president, insignificant, is always surrounded by his associates, so the Supreme Being, how He is associated with His surroundings, you can just imagine. He cannot be alone. That is Krsna. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Arrival Lecture – Dallas, March 3, 1975
Find them here: https://goo.gl/bnbWSi

Ratha Yatra Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: O Lord, as the small sparks of a fire cannot …Read More…

Man reading part of a Gita.
While listening to a nice lecture about book distribution by Vaisesika Prabhu, I was reminded of an interesting encounter I had years ago with a man in Southern California. I was distributing books when I saw a man sitting at table in front of a restaurant. He was reading a section of a book that had been torn out of a book. The section looked about forty pages long. I looked closer; it was part of the Bhagavad-gita.
So I said to the man, “Excuse me, but where did you get that torn-out section of the Bhagavad-gita?”
“I found it on the street a few days ago, and it contains some of the most profound philosophy I’ve ever read, I’ve read it twice. I wish I had the whole book.”
“Well, today is your lucky day. Your wish has come through. I have the whole book with me, and I’m distributing it for a donation.”
“You’re not serious?”
He gave a nice donation and was one of the happiest receivers of the Gita I have ever met.
Evidently someone was uninterested, had torn it up, and thrown it on the street. Just see the power of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Torn up and thrown on the street – one would think that’s the end of that book. But no, Krsna still had a plan for it to touch the man’s heart.
Your servant,
Vijaya Dasa

“Inside Out”
Vaisesika das: Recently, while walking through the airport in Irvine, California, I saw an advertisement for a movie by Pixar entitled, Inside Out.
The sub-titles were:
“Meet the Little Voices Inside Your Head. A major emotion picture.”
The advertisement features pictures of some of the characters that will be in the film: cartoon caricatures of various qualities such as sincerity, arrogance, greed, and so on. These personified emotions live inside the heads of the main characters of the film and influence their lives, each in their own way.

Most people will relate to the idea behind this movie, even if they never plan to see it. The reason? People really do hear voices inside their heads (even mentally healthy people) and often times these voices are contradictory. One voice might say, “Throw caution to the wind and enjoy your senses.” While another voice intervenes and says, “Don’t do it. It’s not good for you.”

In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna give us an idea of where these unseen influences come from. For example, Krishna depicts lust as an enemy who takes up a sitting place in our senses, mind or intelligence; and from these strategic places, Krishna says, lust covers our knowledge and bewilders us. (Bg. 3.40)

In his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada writes: “The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Krishna is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found.”

We can be sure that Pixar has created a character representing lust.

By the practice of devotional service bhakti yogis not only come to know the voices – like lust – in their heads, but they also learn how to tame and transform them.

Srila Prabhupada writes: “Krishna consciousness is so powerful that even a late beginner can become a lover of God by following the regulative principles of devotional service. So, from any stage of life, or from the time of understanding its urgency, one can begin regulating the senses in Krishna consciousness, devotional service of the Lord, and turn the lust into love of Godhead–the highest perfectional stage of life.” (Bg. 3.41; purport)

Pixar’s new movie title, Inside Out, marks a need that most people feel: the need for inner purification, integrity, and self-discipline.

One who recognizes this need to improve oneself can take to devotional service, beginning with the regular chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.

Om Tat Sat

ISKCON Auckland NZ: Rathyatra festival 2016 (Album with photos)
Kalasamvara Das: Thousands got the mercy of Lord Jagannath on …Read More…

Festival of the Holy Name in New Raman Reti, Alachua, Florida (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: To chant the holy name and …Read More…

Thanksgiving at Govinda’s Tucson
Dana-Keli Devi Dasi: Thanksgiving on Govinda’s patio (Tucson, Az.) with music by Gangamantri and Dhiro Datta Prabhu was a heart warming and splendid affair. I arrived shortly before noon when the event began and already there was a long line of enthusiastic folks waiting for the doors to open. The buffet, set with a colorful and healthy array of vegetarian and vegan delights, was an excellent offering from Sandamini devi who has created and managed these great events for over 25 years. A seasoned old Tom turkey roamed freely on the patio, while the musicians warmed to their craft and began to play the songs we loved the most. The bird, Tom, who had been a cherished guest at Govinda’s stood stark still when the diners realized what an excellent photo opportunity they could have. How inspiring to see on Facebook or other news feeds people enjoying a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast while associating with a live Turkey!
On the patio that perfect afternoon, when Gangamantri and Dhiro Datta played George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord, a few of us ladies could not resist raising our arms in the loving glory of the Lord and expressing our gratitude at that moment when happiness, faith, and vision simultaneously occur.
I had a conversation with a man, who was a professional musician and had been coming to Govinda’s Cruelty-Free Thanksgiving festivals for many years. He gave thanks to Sandamini Devi for her dedication to the community and her ability to orchestrate the event with so much dignity. We both agreed that the patio of Govinda’s held the most elevated Thanksgiving in Tucson or perhaps anyplace in America. HARE KRISHNA

OBEISANCES TO THE TOLERANT – From Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati’s Vrindavan-mahimamrtam.
Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati: “To those who tolerate thousands of abusive words, millions of the humiliating insults of ruffians, millions of [bodily] miseries caused due to lack of proper food, clothing or shelter, and also tolerate extreme mental despair caused due to the anguish inflicted by lust, etc. — to those who stay in this sporting ground of Krishna, tolerating all these, I offer my obeisances.”
Excerpt from the new issue of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu.
CONTENTS INCLUDE:

* MAYA’S TRICKS – His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada offers some words of caution for devotees.

* IMPOSSIBLE TO SATISFY EVERYONE – Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja speaks of the futility of trying to satisfy others in this world and how our only hope is to try to satisfy the Lord.

* HANKERING IS THE ONLY SATISFACTION – A first time translation done especially for this issue of Bindu from a little known medieval Gaudiya text called Prema-pattanam by Sri Rasikottamsa a grand disciple of Sri Raghunath Bhatta.

* OBEISANCES TO THE TOLERANT – Another fresh translation from Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati’s Vrindavan-mahimamrtam.

This issue can be downloaded at the following link:

https://archive.org/details/bindu388

The Vanaprastha Ashram – What Is It All About?
Madhusudan Hari Das: During the last days of Kartik we had the opportunity to welcome HG Devaki Mataji at the Jagannath Temple in Sesadripuram/Bangalore to launch the course entitled “The Vanaprastha Ashram”. It was well attended by around seventy devotees, who participated over several days in the 15-hour course. Each participant received well composed course materials with powerful quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s purports to selected verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Devaki Mataji very skillfully extracted the universal principles of the Vanaprastha Ashram and presented them with realization and conviction, clearly illustrating how we can apply these principles in our modern days. Her presentations were to the point and thought provoking, shaking us up to the facts of reality that this last phase of life is not meant to be lived in comfort, leisure and opulence, surrounded by sweet grand-children charming our hearts with broken language. Rather are we meant to increase austerities, and by simplifying our surroundings, our eating and our externals we can gradually give up more and more the bodily concept of life and deepen our focus on sravanam kirtanam to ultimately prepare for death – our final challenge. In SB 1.15.44. Prabhupada declares that no respectable gentleman would remain in family life until death, because that was considered suicidal and against the interest of the perfection of human life. Such quotes shook up the audience – it was indeed a wake-up call for many of us. It reset the trajectory of life to the most important goal of remembering Krishna at the time of death and going back to Godhead. Our entire lifestyle should be molded around chanting Hare Krishna – something we easily tend to forget when having been lulled into a sense of complacency, with life’s priorities revolving around wife and kids, and earning one’s livelihood. Then Krishna easily moves into the background rather than being in the very center of our lives. Krishna and Srila Prabhupada’s mission are pushed to the back burner while more ‘urgent’ business grabs our mind’s attention. This course urged us to introspect and re-set our priorities with a never experienced intensity. It is a “must” for all age groups – it could just make the difference between making it back to Goloka Vrindavan or having to do another round in this material world. For recordings please see www.therootsofspiritualculture.net

Elections in New Raman Reti – Alachua, meet the candidates.
NRR Temple Board Candidates.
There are Two Vacancies on the N…Read More…

Seven Srimad Bhagavatam Sets on Ekadasi!
Today is a very auspicious, joyful day: We distributed seven Srimad-Bhagavatam sets, which we were able to do by the mercy and inspiration of Vaisesika Prabhu.
In the morning I was doing a japa walk, and a person told me that today is Ekadasi. He said that whatever auspicious activity we perform gives a multiplied result.
This gave me the impetus to set a goal of distributing ten Bhagavatam sets. When I returned home, I saw that I had only two sets. I called the BBT to order ten more, and I planned to distribute them after work. I also called Vinodh Prabhu and asked him to compose an email to friends and devotees and asked him to join me for book distribution in the evening. We planned to do BIG.
Set 1: After eating breakfast, I met a lady who once came to do some service. She asked about the duties of a woman, which she wanted to teach her daughter. I displayed the Bhagavatam and showed her the Seventh Canto chapters about varnas and asramas. She agreed to buy a set.
Set 2: During the lunchtime at my office, I was saying Gayatri. Then a friend asked me what I was doing. I soon started to explain the Bhagavatam. I suggested that his parents will be glad to read the book at their age. He took a set in Telugu.
Set 3: Also during lunch, a friend asked me about Ekadasi (which he has followed forseveral years without knowing its importance). After sharing with him some glories of Ekadasi, I told him about the Bhagavatam and suggested that his wife, who is now pregnant, read the prayers by Uttara about her child in the womb. He took a set.
Sets 4 & 5: A long-time devotee friend called in the afternoon and shared his difficulties with sadhana. I suggested that he try to distribute Bhagavatam sets today. He didn’t immediately agree. He said that he could not glorify Srimad Bhagavatam because he feels weak in Krsna consciousness.
I said, “You simply call ten friends to ask whether they have a set of the Bhagavatams. And quote Srila Prabhupada to your friends: ‘I want that every respectable person has a set of Srimad Bhagavatam and Chaitanya-caritamrita’.”
Around 10 p.m., he called back with the news that he’d distributed two sets and wanted to deliver them the following day. He said he chanted his best rounds in a long time owing to the inspiration of distributing two sets on an Ekadasi.
Set 6: Returning from work, I met a colleague who was talking about cultural activities for children and opportunities to speak about stories. I immediately suggested that the Bhagavatam gives culture to the kids and asked him to take a set. Although he didn’t have the money on hand, he agreed to take the set and pay in installments.
Set 7: Feeling tired after work, we tried going door-to-door. Mahamantra Prabhu and Vinodh joined me in the evening, and we read two pages of the Bhagavatam and got energized. We knocked on a neighbor’s door and prayed to Srimati Tulasi Maharani at that home, the home of an elderly couple and performed kirtan for ten minutes with them, praying that they would take a set. After the kirtana, even before we began speaking about the Bhagavatam, the lady eagerly asked us if we had the full Srimad Bhagavatam. She had previously owned a small Bhagavatam book and wanted to have the full set. We showed them the books, which they accepted and asked us to install in their home. The elderly gentleman got us some flowers and arranged for some fruits and a lamp. With these simple offerings, we invited the Lord in the form of the Bhagavatam into the home of these simple-hearted people.
Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam!
Sri Rama Dasa,
Hyderbad

Seeing Those Before Me…
Bhaktimarga Swami: In my humble opinion the following is worth repeating, an excerpt from our script, “Krishna Is” and it is a poeticized segment of the exchange between warrior, Arjuna, and wise Bhagavan (God). Author Bhaktimarga Swami.
ARJUNA: Seeing those before me causes me to shiver.
To lift my bow is as though I had never
Hairs stand on end, mind is reeling.
I’m confused, it’s new, this kind of feeling.
Sri Krishna, I just cannot fight.
There’s something here that is not right.
KRISHNA: Arjuna, you’ve lost your sense of duty.
A man of defense renounced a warrior’s beauty.

For the wise there’s a different point of view
Of eternity—no birth, no death—known by few.

Consider the world, which is full of duality.
Good and bad is its only reality.

The major point is to not lament.
The soul is forever, that is my comment.

Moving through bodies from young to old.
From old to young, the circle does unfold.

ARJUNA: Krishna, what is the force that compels one to do wrong.
If you could please include this in your song.

KRISHNA: It is desire, born of passion—then wrath
That keeps us covered and obscures the path.

Perform your yoga, and your sacrifice
For the creator and then all will be nice.

ARJUNA: Krishna, yoga can be tried for controlling the mind.
But the mind is an instrument of a different kind.

I’m fine if asked to harness the wind.
But the mind cannot be anchored or pinned.

KRISHNA: Begin the process; take it easy and slow.
In the end, there’s freedom; the soul will then glow.

ARJUNA: You are my teacher, mentor and guide.
It was no mistake to have you on my side.

I have come to consider about you there is more.
It’s your cosmic form I wish to explore.

KRISHNA: The form is manifest when we have the eyes.
Otherwise there’s the tendency to despise.

I reveal it to those whose devotion is clear.
When friendship is firm, I then come quite near.

It is surrender through service that is so sweet.
It is surrender that is illusion’s defeat.

ARJUNA: Oh Krishna, my doubt is now gone.
I believe the fight should definitely go on.

KRISHNA: Arjuna, my song is old but alive.
You have your free will, but now let me drive.

Life is Short!
Vaisesika Dasa: I met a pathologist recently who works with cancer patients. She explained to me that there is a certain kind of pancreatic cancer that is most deadly and that one who contracts it can survive only a few months, at the most.
She said that because of the often-depressing nature of her job, she and her colleagues have a way of speaking among themselves to lighten the emotional impact when they receive bad news about a patient’s prognosis.
For example, when they read a patient’s lab results and find that the patient has developed the most deadly strain of pancreatic cancer, they speak about it to one another in a somewhat indirect way.
Among pathologists, a conversation might go like this:

“Did you read the lab report for your patient?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the result?”

“Well, I can tell my patient not to buy the big tube of toothpaste the next time she goes shopping.”

My first impression upon hearing this was that the pathologists’ conversation was almost too glib for the circumstances. After thinking about it a while, however, the phrase, “tell her not to buy the big tube …” stuck in my mind and their conversation began to seem more profound and it also made me question my own life and priorities:

What am I investing in and why? (Am I buying the “big tubes”?)

What people, things, and abilities that I already have, am I taking for granted?

I can also imagine a conversation among higher beings who, upon hearing about my very limited duration of life, might say among themselves: “Tell him not to buy the big tube of toothpaste.”

Life is Short Indeed, the bhakti scriptures clearly and repeatedly tell us that our human lives are shorter than we think! They say, therefore, that we should take excessive care to use every moment for advancing toward the highest goal – going back to Godhead:

“After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life as long as his body, which is always subject to death, has not fallen down and died. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Krishna consciousness is possible only for a human being.” Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.9.29

Bhakti Tree (Album with photos)
Ramai Swami: Krsna Kirtan das is from Croatia and his wife Amala Prema devi dasi from Turkey. They came to Australia about a year ago and served at New Gokula farm.
They have now transferred to the Bhakti Tree in Newcastle and both serve in the restaurant – he cooks and she takes care of the customers.
They also lead and participate in nice kirtan on the preaching nights.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/4lD7UK

The marathon of distributing 200.000 in UK Srila Prabhupada’s books during the Christmas holidays of 2016 just begun!
Sutapada das: Last of the first deliveries are in. We just offloaded an artic lorry fully loaded with 30,000 books! Seeing all these books piled up is a nerve racking sight. But I’m quietly confident.
Despite our inherent limitations, we gain firm conviction from knowing that the all-powerful will of providence is on our side. With such transcendental back-up, anything is possible. One who is ‘quietly confident’, their surety grounded in humility and dependence, can achieve unimaginable things in this world. Pride, complacency and hopelessness are not found in their dictionary. Seeing themselves as merely instruments, their job is to just “get out of the way” and let the divine magic manifest. Let’s see how the transcendental drama unfolds.
Watch a video about this here: https://goo.gl/hOsZZX

Srimati Radha Padma Devi Dasi (8 years old) narrates from Mayapur the highlights of Mahabharata which brought about the battle of Ku…Read More…

Srila Prabhupada – Disappearance Day (6th November 2016) (Album with photos)
ISKCON Pakistan devotees were overjoyed by the visit of PhD Scholar HG Dr. Shyama Anand Krishna Prabhu from Australia on this special occasion.
Srila Prabhupada said: A devotee who confidently states his position and forcefully refutes others may be misunderstood to be arrogant, especially by those brought up in the pseudo-liberal belief that every opinion is as good as any other. But a devotee’s confidence comes, not from pride or dogmatism, but because he is actually right and everyone else is wrong. Devotees know the Absolute Truth and thus know everything best. (Bhagavad Gita: 15:19)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/LaTM8B

Ground Breaking Ceremony for a new multi-specialty hospital at Sri Dham Mayapur happened recently during Ras Purnima festival.
The city of Sri Mayapur is expanding, with its number of visitors and its residents increasing every passing year. Kirtan priya das , Nanda Suta das and Prana Gauranga Das inspired and motivated by HH. Jayapataka Swami have stepped forward to build the hospital, for the benefit of growing number of Mayapur Community devotees.
“As a part of the development of a spiritual township , its important to have a hospital and health facility.”, HH Jayapataka Swami said. He also explained that Srila Prabhupada ,after a Govardhan puja in Mayapur saw some poor children eat scraps of left over Prasad. At that time Srila Prabhupada expressed his desire that he never wanted any one to go hungry within a ten mile radius of the ISKCON Campus. It was then that we started the Food For Life at Mayapur”. Maharaj further said that the Hospital was an extension of this instruction.

ISKCON Auckland NZ: Harinam in the rain (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Our philosophy is “Come. Come here, play with Krsna as cowherd boy. Come here, dance with Krsna as gopi. Come here, accept Krsna as your son, Krsna will accept you as His mother.” There will be always two, and enjoy, any way. Even as enemy, demon displaying part of enemy, Krsna killing, that is also pastime too. That is also enjoyment. Just like sometimes we fight, friend to friend, to enjoy life, because fighting is enjoyment. You become enemy of Krsna purposefully, and to fight with Him, that is giving pleasure to Krsna. Krsna is enjoying, and He also becomes so staunch enemy. So this is also transcendental pleasure. Just like Bhisma. He is piercing the body of Krsna, and He is coming with cakra. That is a pleasure. Krsna is enjoying being pierced by His devotee. And devotee is enjoying, “Now Krsna is coming to kill me.” So any way you can deal with Krsna and enjoy transcendental pleasure, either as enemy or as friend or as son or as lover, as master, as a servant – any way. Krsna is prepared to deal with you any way, in twelve rasas, akhila-rasamrta-sindhu. Raso vai sah, in the Vedas, He is the reservoir of all pleasure, transcendental. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversations – September 11, 1974, Vrndavana
Find them here: https://goo.gl/prJTqy

Mantra Meditation Guide.
Recently, I had the great opportunity to help design and edit (with HH Giriraja Swami) a 4″x10″ mini tri-fold brochure entitled the “MANTRA MEDITATION GUIDE.” With over 20,000 currently in print in North America, supplying LA, SD, Dallas, RVC and Tucson, I am feeling very encouraged to share the design with other yatras.
The printing cost is extremely affordable, at roughly 2.5 cents per guide, ~$160 for 5,000 copies and the design/content customization I am offering free of charge.
Additionally, I have an account with a wholesale printing company (USA) and would be happy to get a quote to place an order on your behalf.
If you are interested, feel free to contact me for more details.
All glories to your service! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
your servant,
Bhismadeva Dasa

Nature of Association.
Nityam Bhagavata-sevaya: Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!
As we approach 2nd Anniversary of our E-Magazine, we are continuing with series of Lord Krishna’s childhood pastimes. In the previous issue, we covered ‘Sri Damodara Lila’, NBS#50 presents ‘Deliverance of Nalakuvera and Manigriva’ and the importance of ‘Sadhusanga’.
Features:
1) Deliverance Of Nalakuvera And Manigriva
Conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Parikshita
2) Causeless Mercy Of Narada Muni
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
3) How Can One Destroy His Material Bondage?
Sri Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakura
4) How Can We Meet A Bonafide Spiritual Master?
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura
5) Nature Of Association
Compilation of Verses
We pray that this issue brings some pleasure to the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Issuu: http://issuu.com/nbsmag/docs/nbs_50
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/document/332174769/NBS-50

“Tell people it is the real thing…”
Kadamba Kanana Swami: To our book distributors, I would like to say this. When you are distributing books on the street, it is tough because people are not waiting for you. They did not come out to the streets to buy books. They came for another reason and then suddenly some ‘extra-terrestrial’ comes in his orange dress and tries to put a book in their hands, “Woah. Noooooooooo! Not interested.”

Balaram and Radhika’s Indian Vedic Wedding at ISKCON Alachua temple (Album with photos)

I can’t take my eyes off of this gorgeous bride (and groom!). I had the honor and pleasure of photographing Balaram and Radhika’s wedding last month in Gainesville Florida at the Alachua ISKCON Temple. The wedding was styled and planned by the talented team at Ganjam Tribe, and they really did a fabulous job at it!

5 Ways to Thank.
No matter who we are or where we live we have someone (or something) to thank. Perhaps we thank the sun for brightening our day, or our car for starting without trouble. We may thank Krishna for our connection to Him, or our co-worke…

A Little Girl Who Emptied Her Piggybank for a Krsna Book.
Pravin Wakle Prabhu and his team of young Youth Forum devotees at ISKCON Chowpatty very enthusiastically distribute books after work. Pravin works at a software firm in Lower Parel. After work …

Mayapur Institute in Gauranga Desh.
“The more one reads Bhagavad-gītā the more he gets the appetite to read and understand it, and each time he gets new enlightenment. That is the nature of the transcendental message. Similarly, we find that transcendental happiness in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The more we hear and chant the glories of the Lord, the more we become happy.” – S.B. 3.25.2 Purport
Srila Prabhupada wanted every one of us to study his books systematically for our own benefit. It is evident in many of his writings, letters and lectures. To fulfill this vision of Srila Prabhupada, Mayapur Institute manifested.
In order to reach out to students who are not able to travel to India to study the Sastric Courses, Mayapur Institute holds courses in various locations around the world upon request. 35 Students successfully completed their Nectar of Instruction unit of Bhakti Sastri Graduation Program at Gauranga Desh.

Diverse Newcomers Delve into Prabhupada’s Books at Baltimore Bhakti Lounge.
Originally the gatherings were held in a tiny space – barely more than a shed. Since being restarted in October, however, the Bhakti Lounge’s home has been a handsome, two-storey residential house with a wrap-around porch and comfortable furnishings, located near the ISKCON Baltimore temple in Catonsville, Maryland.

Yavat – Ter Kadamba Karttika 2016 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: This is my very favorite parikrama to go to Yavat and …Read More…

THE SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS CONFERENCE 2016
Recently I attended the yearly conference, “The Science of Consciousness”, at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Sponsored for the past 23 years by the University of Arizona and the University of Michigan, and dedicated to “broad and rigorous approaches to conscious awareness, the nature of existence and our place in the universe”, this unique forum attracted over 1000 participants from 60 countries. Of the 500 submitted abstracts, mine was one of the 200 included in the poster session.
Here is the Abstract from my presentation:

Modes of Material Nature: A Mathematical Model of Consciousness Based on Eastern Philosophical Traditions Mauricio Garrido (Columbia University, Professional Studies; Bhaktivedanta Institute, Gainesville, New York, NY )

Consciousness is postulated by some to be a fundamental entity (Chalmers, 1996). As such, how is it affected by and how does it affect the world around us? Eastern philosophies such as Vedanta and Sankhya hold that consciousness is fundamental and explain its interactions with matter in terms of the modes of material nature, or gunas, which act as both consciousness filters and the make-up of
matter itself. Dasgupta (1961) describes the gunas as ?the universal characteristics of all kinds of mental tendencies? (p. 468). According to the Bhagavat Purana, on one hand all material elements are infused with the gunas. And on the other hand, our psycho-physical disposition consists of mixtures of the gunas (Prabhupada, 1976). Thus, more than just a personality indicator to describe an individual’s behavior – such as the Myers-Briggs Indicator (Langton & Robbins, 2007) – or perceptual sets that are created by motivation (Coon & Mitterer, 2008), the gunas have an important ontological status in the metaphysics of Vedanta and Sankhya. Although there have been studies on inter-guna correlations (Das, 1991 and Pathak et al., 1992), only until recently has a fully statistically-validated, quantitative tool been developed to assess them individually (Wolf, 1999 and Stempel et al., 2006). This tool has been used in meditation studies (Schmidt & Walach, 2014) and speech rehabilitation (Caturvedi, 2000). We now present a mathematical model of the gunas that aims at understanding the results of some of these studies, which use the tool developed by Wolf to quantify the gunas. A delineation of the different characteristics that make up the different mental faculties according to the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavat Purana is presented to create interacting modules. The states of this machinery are then linked to the gunas and dynamics are included in this state-space. Finally, the results from some of the studies that involve guna theory are explained using this model

Business leaders, spiritual teachers advocate charity in business.
“Our greatest treasure here is our own culture. India has a historic opportunity in today’s times to do great things for the benefit of the country and the World”, said Radhanath Swami Maharaj, ISKCON Spiritual leader and one of the keynote speakers at Artha Forum.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/3Zya1Z

It was Ford and Reuther, and the ceremony was covered by Time magazine, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press!
Udayananda: We had kirtan competitions. Devotees from the Chicago temple would do their thing, the L.A. devotees w…

“One’s ability to respond.”
The word, responsibility, derives from Old French, respondre, “to answer.”

In other words, responsibility, can be literally taken as, “one’s ability to respond.”

Hladini, Sandhini And Samvit.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has three kinds of internal potency, namely the hlādinī-śakti, or pleasure potency, the sandhinī-śakti, or existential potency, and the samvit-śakti, or cognitive potency. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.12.69) the Lord is addressed as follows: “O Lord, You are the support of everything. The three attributes hlādinī, sandhinīand samvit exist in You as one spiritual energy. But the material modes, which cause happiness, misery and mixtures of the two, do not exist in You, for You have no material qualities.”
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta—-1:4:60—-purport).

Five beings that should always be appreciated & valued and PROTECTED.
When they are thus valued (as any great wealth is), they will be protected by those who value them. Lack of protection indicates a lack of appreciation – that is, the fault is not with the wealth, it is with the unappreciative wealth holder. Danakeli Dasi once wrote a very nice explanation why they should be protected.