Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Srimati Radha Padma Devi Dasi is giving an amazing, for her age, class during Kartika (8 min video)
Bhagavad Gita as it is, Ch…Read More…

Vaishnava Marriage Counselors Give First Seminars in Russia.
Vaishnava marriage counselors Partha Das and Uttama Dasi were recently invited, under the recommendation of GBC Bhakti Vijnana Swami, to offer marital and premarital education to devotees in Moscow, Russia, for the first time.

The effort was an important service to the vast and fast-growing 10,000 member ISKCON Moscow community, who were grateful to learn practical advice and new paradigms.

Initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1973, husband and wife Partha and Uttama have an incredible amount of experience and wisdom between them. They’ve been happily married for forty-five years, have premarital education training certified by Prepare and Enrich, and have offered that education with the Grihasta Vision Team – a group of professional devotee counselors – for the past decade.

Kirtan @ Dallas City Council meeting – Janmastami Eve 8/24/2016 (5 min video)
Nityananda Chandra das: The mayor gave a stellar …Read More…

Poet, singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen has passed away at 82. Mr. Cohen visited the Festival of India in Montreal in 2006. Viswambhara das wrote:
“On the occasion of this year’s Rathayatra festival in Montreal however, this tender and gentle man of considerable fame and influence seemed content and at ease as he wandered through the various exhibits and activities organized in the framework of the Festival of India. Later, he sat discreetly with friends on the grass at some distance from the tent where Lord Jagannatha, Balarama and Lady Subhadra were being worshiped.
In person, Mr. Cohen proved to be a modest, unassuming man, unimpressed with his own fame, and a respectful listener. In conversation he proved to have a sharp inquisitive mind. After the usual introductions, Mr. Cohen seemed eager to state with evident pride that he had met His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada in 1967, in New York’s lower East Side (a search of the Vedabase Folio yielded no record of this encounter and one cannot help but wonder what transpired at the time). He further said he has been practicing Zen Buddhism for the past thirty years and that he often goes to Mumbai, to hear from a certain advaitist guru of some reputation. He also seemed proud to say that he also regularly reads Bhagavad-gita. By good fortune, a devotee timely and discreetly came to offer him a copy of Srila Prabhupada’s original Bhagavad-Gita As It Is. He accepted the book with respect, inspected it briefly and showed it to the man and woman who accompanied him. Surprisingly, the gentleman friend said that the cover illustration of Bhagavad-gita As It Is has been gracing his refrigerator door for more than twenty years. He promised to dig out his copy of the book from his library shelves and read it.
Mr. Cohen expressed appreciation for the work that ISKCON is doing for the people in general by the distribution of song, music and food. He seemed particularly impressed that a new generation of young devotees seemed ready and enthusiastic to take to Krishna consciousness seriously.”
In the film, “I’m Your Man,” a documentary about his life and music, Leonard Cohen said the following:
“There is a beautiful moment in the Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna. The general. The great general. He’s standing in his chariot. And all the chariots are readied for war. And across the valley, he sees his opponents. And there he sees not just uncles and aunts and cousins, he sees gurus, he sees teachers that have taught him; and you know how the Indians revere that relationship. He sees them. And Krishna, one of the expressions of the deity, says to him, ‘You’ll never untangle the circumstances that brought you to this moment. You’re a warrior. Arise now, mighty warrior. With the full understanding, that they’ve already been killed, and so have you. This is just a play. This is my will. You’re caught up in the circumstances that I determine for you. That you did not determine for yourself. So, arise, you’re a noble warrior. Embrace your destiny, your fate, and stand up and do your duty.’”
May Krishna please bless Mr. Cohen with further progress in devotional service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrlNILWslc0
( I was there when Leonard came to the RY. I was sitting with Laksminatha and Visvambara. VIsvambara noticed it was Leonard Cohen and said “ I’m going to give him a Bhagavad Gita ” and he got up and got one and gave it to him. Leonard was with his daughter ~ Gaura das )
Thank you to Padmapani prabhu for passing this on to us.
Recently, Leonard Cohen was profiled by the editor of The New Yorker. He is quoted about halfway through the article:

“I participated in all these investigations that engaged the imagination of my generation at that time,” Cohen has said. “I even danced and sang with the Hare Krishnas — no robe, I didn’t join them, but I was trying everything.” (https://goo.gl/htj21r)

H.G. Jaga Jivan Prabhu served the ISKCON institution and Srila Prabhupada for 45 + years! At the age of 67 he left his body on 10th …Read More…

Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu latest issue: With some fresh translations on the art and science of traditional Vaishnava poetic ornamentation.
Excerpt: The Ornament of Sequential Connections Poetry in Sanskrit is considered most relishable if decorated with poetic ornaments. Scholars of the Sanskrit language broadly classify poetic ornaments into two major categories, sabda-alankara , ornaments based on the sounds of the words (such as alliteration and puns), and artha-alankara , ornaments based on the meanings of the words (such as simile, metaphor and hyperbole).
Ultimately, every ornament has one purpose — to touch the minds and hearts of the reader and leave a magical impression. When this magical impression is caused solely due to the words themselves and not due to their innate meanings then such an ornament is known as sabda-alankara. This includes all varieties of rhyming syllables, poetry created using only one or two syllables, and poetry which can be laid out in the form of a diagram, etc. When the magical impression is created not by the words themselves but by their innate meanings then the resultant ornament is known as artha-alankara.
There are hundreds of such meaning-based ornaments. One of them is yatha-sankhya , the ornament of sequential connections. This ornament manifests when a list of items is given in the initial part of a verse and then these items are sequentially connected to another list of items in the latter part of the verse.
An early example of this in Gaudlya-vaisnava literature can be seen in Srila Rupa Goswami’s Padyavall (7):
Due to showing parental affection ( vatsalya ); due to giving a promise of fearlessness ( abhaya-pradana – samaya ); due to removing the distress of the distressed (artarti-nirvapana); due to showing magnanimity ( audarya ); due to removing all sins ( agha-sosana ); and due to facilitating the attainment of unlimited prosperity ( aganita-sreyah-pada-prapana ) — due to all these reasons, the husband of Lakshmi is the only personality worthy of service in all of the worlds. The witnesses to these qualities [in sequence] are: Prahlad, Vibhishan, Gajendra, Draupadi, Ahalya and Dhruva. [Translator’s Note: Six expressions of how the Lord relates with his devotees are described initially in the verse, while the final line offers six examples of those expressions: Prahlad received parental affection from Lord Nrsimhadeva; Vibhishan received fearlessness from the Lord; Gajendra’s distress was removed; Draupadi received the Lord’s limitless magnanimity; Ahalya’s sins were removed by the foot-touch of Lord Ram; and, finally, Dhruva was granted unlimited prosperity in his own planet.] Srilajiva Goswami in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sesa (4.113) defines this ornament as follows: yatha-sankhyam anuddesa uddistanam kramenayat Yatha-sankhya is a sequential connection of the items described. He then gives an example: strinam arinam mitrdndm krsnas tais tair gunair bhavan smaro danda-dharas candras tridhaiko pi bhavam sthitah Towards ladies, enemies and friends, Krishna reciprocated according to their respective moods. Thus he appeared to them, respectively, as cupid, a chastiser, and the moon. In this way he behaved in three ways although he was the same one person.
[Translator’s Note: To the ladies he appeared as beautiful as cupid, to enemies he appeared as a chastiser, and to his friends he appeared as the soothing moon.]
To read the entire e-magazine click here: https://archive.org/details/bindu387

Sacred Land (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The other day our parikrama party visited Kusum Sarovara and Radha Kunda, two of Vrindavan’s most sacred sites. Once again, a big thank you to Ananta Vrindavan das for capturing the mood for all of you who aren’t here in Vrindavan this Kartika.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/AomY4Q

“The Most Valuable Thing” Puppet show (18 min video)
Jagattarini Dasi (ACBSP): Puppetry was a big part of my life a long, long time ago… it’s a powerful form of artistic expression, and a great way to share a message or a story. Recently, much to the delight of some of my very dear friends (both young and old) who were attending our recent Kartik festivities here at The Sacred India Gallery, I spontaneously revived the puppetry spirit! Here’s a video capturing some more of the fun called “The Most Valuable Thing”
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/QY4vmJ

Sastra Dana, Anna Dana & Damodara school programs in Malaysia (Album with photos)
Simheswara Dasa: Scriptures state that the Damodara Kartika month is beneficial for performing devotional services to Lord Sri Krishna. And this is why our ISKCON Sastra Dana Anna Dana & Damodara programme at schools is done this month and which is getting bigger every year. *Since 21 October we have already visited 12 national type Tamil schools and distributed 5,240 plates of vegetarian meals, handed 1,012 free Bhagavad Gitas and 3,682 smaller literatures to 4,410 students and 380 staffs.* *Total of 4,790 participants have offered ghee lamps to Lord Damodara.*

It is also through sponsors and volunteers help are we not only sustaining but also expanding this important project. We are just doing what is possible for us, our sponsors and our volunteers. A prasadam sponsor simply needs to make a gift of RM2 for each student he or she wants to feed. A book sponsor’s gift is RM20 per Bhagavad-gita or RM3 for a smaller literature.

Hard work begins with the ISKCON K.L. temple president H.G. Kripa Sindhu Krishna prabhu. He is personally with this project and as early as 6AM is with H.G. Rasaparayana prabhu to prepare meals while expertly engaging volunteers. H.G. Gokul Damodara prabhu and his team on the other hand manage the prasadam and book distribution to students. Overall it is teamwork to serve the thousands of wonderful students while being an instrument of Lord Sri Krishna.

*Past two days we were at two big schools with 1,707 students and teachers. Our gratitude to H.G. Sulochana Bhakti mataji for assisting with RM2,000 to partially defray cost of yesterday’s programme at the Rawang Tamil school. And at Batu Caves Tamil school today we distributed 192 Bhagavad-gitas, 743 smaller literatures, served our very own New Godruma Dhama farm fresh sugar cane juice and our Nadia Bakery buns apart from the regular full lunch meal to 935 students and 83 teachers. We are indebted to the newly formed Hare Krishna Cooperative Malaysia Berhad for sponsoring RM12,500 to defray the full expenses for today’s programme.*
Find them here: https://goo.gl/RGdtCB

Bhisma Pancaka (video-class by Giriraj Swami)
The last five days of Kartika month, Thursday – Monday, November 10 -14, 2016, are known as Bhisma-Pancaka. Grandfather Bhisma fasted for these five days, preparing to give up his life. However one observes Kartika-vrata, one should intensify it for the last five days. Bhisma-pancaka refers to a special vow (vrata) that can be taken up by Vaisnavas during the last five days of the Damodara month. Here are some ways to amp up your Kartika vrata:
Read from Srila Prabhupada’s books
Attend morning class
Attend mangal arati
Do some unrecognized temple service
Donate for the cow program
Go on Friday Harinama in Gainesville
Help with Krishna Lunch at Santa Fe College
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/6JB32K

Gopastami celebrations @ ISKCON Kanpur on 50th Anniversary occasion (Album with photos)
Gopastami is one of the very celebrated occasion. On this most auspicious occasion ISKCON Kanpur went on to celebrate a very big event with many awareness programs about cow protection & also launching Sri Surabhi campaign & seminars for farmers​.

Beautiful Gopastami Darshan of Sri Sri Radha Govinda at ISKCON Tirupati.
When Srila Prabhupada was visiting Detroit in 1976, he met with two clergymen. First he asked them if they believed that God is a person. “Yes,” they agreed. Then he asked, “Aren’t we also eternal persons meant to love God?” They agreed again. “And isn’t the only thing separating us from enjoying ecstatic life with God sin?” Once again they agreed. Like a pouncing lion, Srila Prabhupada challenged, “Then why don’t you teach people how to lead a sinless life!” Srila Prabhupada went on to show that meat-eating, illicit sex, intoxicants, and gambling pollute people’s consciousness, and that if the clergymen rose above these things, others would follow their example. Mundane welfare work or political agitation would be simply a waste of time. As they left with flower garlands around their necks, packages of Bengali sweets in their hands, and Bhagavad-gitas under their arms, one of them turned to Srila Prabhupada. “Why, I feel like we’ve become your disciples.” Srila Prabhupada chuckled. After they’d gone he quoted a Sanskrit verse which confirmed that only a gosvami–someone who has gained complete control over his bodily senses–can give real spiritual life to his disciples. And we knew we had a gosvami for our spiritual master.
Badarinarayana Swami, from a 1978 BTG

Bhakta Priya devi dasi: URGENT! Dear devotees, I need your continued prayers for my husband Jagajivan Das, who is right now in very …Read More…

Gopinath! (5 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: The beautiful deity of Gopinath was discovered at Vamsivat in Vrindavan 500 years ago by Madhu Pandit and Paramananda Bhattacarya. Madhu Pandit served Gopinath with great love and devotion for many years. Centuries later Gopinath was moved to Jaipur where He has been worshiped along with Srimati Radharani ever since. The temple is popular with the people of Jaipur, who come together daily to chant Radha Gopinath’s glories. Our parikrama party eagerly visits the temple each Kartika.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Ysw70H

A Weekend In Taipei (Album with photos)
Giridhari Swami: We visited Taiwan from Oct. 27 to Nov. 8. The first weekend we went o…Read More…

Ratha Yatra in Lima, Peru (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Always think of Me and become My devotee”–should be taken as the final order of the Lord and should be followed. TLC 11: Service to the Lord
Find them here: https://goo.gl/iU1BHi

In Forlì, Italy, as I was entering a big office building, I was suddenly stopped by a security guard who inquired boldly:
“Who are you? Where are you going?”
She was a young lady, and she seemed quite severe and determined to not let me enter. When I presented myself and explained in a few words about our mission she changed positively and asked:
“Don’t you need a security guard for your community? I’m tired of working for these people.”
I replied, “There is an ancient proverb, rakhe krsna mare khe mare krsna rakhe khe.” “If Lord Krishna protects a person, who can kill him? And if Krishna desires to kill someone, who can protect him?”
After that she smiled and became even more enlightened. Then, when I asked permission to go to the director, she became serious again and said, “You cannot go if you don’t show me those books you are carrying.”

Staying Awake.
A friend returning from India and dealing with jetlag added a small line in an email to me – my goal today: to stay awake.

Kartik Navadvip Mandal Parikrama 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Vedic civilization is very strict. Because the whole aim was how to go back to home, back to Godhead, not sense gratification, eat, drink, be merry, enjoy. That is not the aim of human life. So everything was planned with that aim. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.3 – London, August 4, 1973
Find them here: https://goo.gl/MPdjrW

ISKCON Moscow Lights Up Devotees’ Hearts at Diwali (Album with photos)
One thousand Russian devotees, friends of Krishna and Indian community members gathered to celebrate Diwali in spectacular style in Moscow on Saturday, October 29th.

The crowd packed out a rented auditorium in ISKCON Moscow’s Kuusinena Street building, just ten minutes’ drive from the Kremlin.

Radharani’s Palace (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Varsana and the hills surrounding the home of Srimati Radharani are most dear to devotees of the Lord. Our parikrama party spent an entire day exploring that transcendental abode.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hF1SCi

Radha Kunda Seva: October 2016 Photos and Updates (Album with photos)
We pray that this update finds you all experiencing a very propitious and auspicious Kartika, dear friends. We began the month of October with a painting marathon in anticipation of the *millions* of pilgrims who would soon be inundating Radha Kunda to honor Srimati Radharani’s special Kartika month also known as the month of Damodara. As we hoped, construction on the kitchen has begun! Despite half the building crew coming down with chikungunya (similar to dengue fever only worse), they managed to start the work with several deliveries of earth in order to raise the ground at the kitchen site. This is a very important first step since otherwise, the low-lying area would be flood prone during the rainy season. We are so grateful to you, our family of supporters – those of you have newly joined our efforts and those who have so generously increased your donations – for stepping forward to sponsor our widows’ daily meals! We are up to 78 sponsored out the 80 we are presently feeding! We are feeling optimistic that with your help we will be able to reach even more ladies in need. The enthusiasm of the visiting pilgrims and sadhus inspired and enlivened our crew this month. So many festivals! So much color and celebration! Yes, the cleaning work quadruples, but joy is in the air and it’s an honor to serve the Vaishnavas in this way – cleaning and serving prasadam. Jai Sri Radhe! Shyam! Thank you for being part of the team! Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com. Your servants, Campakalata Devi dasi, Padma Gopi Devi dasi, Urmila Devi Dasi, and Mayapurcandra dasa.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/vnbtvI

Archives of historic Leicestershire architect Joseph Goddard to be gifted to ISKCON.
Goddard family to present archives of Leicestershire architect Joseph Goddard to ISKCONRead More…

Kamyavan Karttika 2016 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: On the 29th, we visited the western petal of Braja, Kamyavan, where all our spiritual desires are fulfilled! We first saw Phisilini Shila, Krishna and Balaram’s slide. Then we visited Vyomasura’s Gupha, Cave, where Vyomasura hid all the cowherd boys! Paying our respects to Lord Balaram’s Footprint, we walked to Bhojan Sthali, where Krishna and the cowherd boys took their lunch and the rocks made thalis and katoras for them to eat. After visiting Vimal Kunda, we completed our journey at Kamesvara Mahadeva Mandir! Pics thanks to Vittalrukmini Das!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/3BmBPV

BBT Far East / Middle East (Album with photos)
Latest blissful photos of Arabic book distribution to university students from Saudi Arabia. Two of them insisted on also getting the English Gita – to learn English from something they suddenly find captivating – after being amazed to receive books in their own language!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/V3uIoV

Distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books (Album with photos)
Mohanasini Devi Dasi (ACBSP): Ok, I admit it…. I’m hooked! Nothing gives me more pleasure, more satisfaction, more happiness, etc. than distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books! I meet fortunate souls every day who are eager to learn about this transcendental knowledge and I am so grateful to be an instrument in their spiritual journey! For a real treat….click on the pics to see what they think!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/eynweN

Rod Smith’s visit to New Raman Reti (Album with photos)
Krsna Katha Dasi: Rod Smith, running for State Senate here in Florida, came to the New Raman Reti temple yesterday for the first time. These photos are of a discussion with concerned parents and teachers regarding continuation of Step Up scholarships for the families whose children attend the Bhaktivedanta Academy.

Gopastami celebration at ISKCON Ujjain (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Krsna says in the fourteenth verse, Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita: “It is very difficult to surmount the problems offered by the laws of material nature, but one who surrenders unto Me, he overcomes.” Therefore we are teaching this Krsna consciousness to solve the problems of life. It is not sentiment or fanaticism or any sectarian religion. It is a fact that if you want to solve the problems of life, you have to become Krsna conscious. There is no other alternative. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 7.14 – September 8, 1969, Hamburg
Find them here: https://goo.gl/5In1CJ

Initiation of new disciples in Vrindavana (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In order to change this materialistic society and prevent them from gliding to hell, first thing is to educate them. All decent men want to give service to humanity, only thing is they do not have information really what is that service. Hospitals, feeding the poor, Red Cross, these are service to the bodies only, not to the man. Service to humanity means jnana. By giving people knowledge, jnana, that is the highest service to humanity. So we are performing the actual welfare work of society by informing everyone through our literatures who is God, who they are, and what is the relationship. In this way everyone who hears our message gets the opportunity to fulfill his actual position as human entity and become delivered from the clutches of maya. So you may understand it that by disseminating our Krsna consciousness propaganda anywhere and everywhere, by selling books, by making publicity, newspapers, television, so many ways there are to spread Krsna consciousness information, you may know it that by utilizing our energy in this way to give everyone access to the Absolute Truth, that is the real understanding of desire to serve humanity. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Ramesvara – India 9 January, 1973
Find them here: https://goo.gl/3KkvRJ

Election Day Blues and the Leadership Vacuum by Sankirtana Das
Election day is upon us. The battle lines are drawn. Many voters are entrenched on one side or the other. Many more are yet undecided and perplexed by the choice of candidates.
Read More…

Pontifical Council For Interreligious Dialogue.
Message To Hindus For The Feast Of Deepavali 2016
On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we offer our best wishes as you celebrate Deepavali on 30 October 2016. May your celebr…

Govardhan puja festival just for children in Iskcon Barnaul, Altai Krai, Russia 11/06/16 (Album with photos)

Wonderful holiday for children was held today at the temple. Thanks to the enthusiasm of our wonderful moms Vaishnavas such holidays have become part of the community that I am personally very happy, because childhood – this is exactly the time when the jiva mind sufficiently pure to accept with all my heart the beauty, purity, the beauty of the spiritual life, Krishna’s service, the time when the form is very bright impressions that will be the foundation of our future life in this strange world. And it is very cool when you do not rob childhood in children, and give the full love, attention and care. On the big holidays “for adults”, they often feel unwanted, neglected and always serious nuisance for adults 👨, but here they were full-fledged masters!

Moments of bhakti and momentum in bhakti – Weekday bhakti and weekend bhakti.
Chaitanya Charan Das: Each Sunday feast program would have on an average an audience of several hundred with the number ranging from hundred to four hundred.
Typically, the audience comprised both Indians and Westerners of various levels of spiritual understanding and seriousness. The challenge would be to connect with all of them and give everyone something that they could carry home. This challenge is like that of a teacher, who usually teaches students at a particular grade, being asked to speak to the school general assembly that contains students from all grades. The strategy that I found works best is to start with a level that even new people can connect with, rise step-by-step to a level where even regular practitioners feel that they are getting something substantial and then conclude with a call for action that resonates with everyone, whatever their level. The Sunday feast program is meant to be a moment of bhakti that will give participants momentum in their bhakti for the rest of the week till they can renew themselves at the next week’s Sunday program.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/pxoZH8

“Importance Of Reading Srila Prabhupada Books”
His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami gave a wonderful class on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 6th, Chapter 17th on verse 36 at ISKCON Vrindavan temple on 6th November 2016. Maharaj initially described the whole pastime of King Chitraketu from Canto 6th of Srimad Bhagavatam and then he proceeded by emphasizing the importance of studying Srila Prabhupada books. Please hear and watch the video of the whole class here: https://goo.gl/9rfZrJ

Saubhari Muni’s Asrama (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The other day our parikrama party visited the ancient asrama of Saubhari Muni in a small village on the banks of the Yamuna River. Bada Haridas prabhu gave an enlightening talk and Madhava prabhu melted our hearts with his bhajan. Once again, Ananta Vrindavan das captured the special day in photos.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/wRwKST

Devotees bring a Jaladuta boat model with them in a Saturday evening Harinama in London (slide show with musical background)
The London Saturday Night Harinama Sankirtan Party’s ranks also were boosted this weekend as many Srila Prabhupada disciples came along to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, which had fallen earlier in the week.

Govardhana Puja celebration in Iskcon New Govardhana, Australia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Don’t try to see Krsna. You cannot see Krsna with your material eyes. Neither you can hear about Him with your material ears. Neither you can touch. But if you engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, then He’ll reveal Himself to you: “Here I am.” That is wanted. So feel separation of Krsna just like Radharani, as Lord Caitanya teaches us, and engage your tongue in the service of the Lord; then, one day, when you are mature, you’ll see Krsna eye to eye. Srila Prabhupada, speaking on Radhastami, Srimati Radharani’s Appearance Day – London, August 29, 1971
Find them here: https://goo.gl/PG7XcE

Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day observed in Vrindavana’s Iskcon Krishna Balaram Mandir.
Many disciples of His Divine Grace attended and each one of them offered his homage and realizations for the glorification of Srila Prabhupada. Many concluded that although Srila Prabhupada was no longer physically present on the earth he is still very much present in this world in the form of his books and his instructions given to his followers.
Many programs were held at the Krishna Balaram temple in his honor like an Abhisek, performed to his deity, arati and pushpanjali at his Samadhi.
A huge cake weighing 150 kg was cut on this occasion by Iskcon’s GBC member and senior Vaishnava HH Gopal Krishna Goswami.

The beautiful Iskcon Farm Simhacalam in Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: …article on the subject of “Krsna, the supreme scientist,” and let us publish it. That article is very nice. If he writes such articles, the conclusion, if Krsna, the supreme scientist, Krsna, the supreme economist, Krsna, the supreme philosopher, Krsna, the supreme chemist, Krsna -everything, the conclusion is Supreme, Krsna – then his activity is fulfilled. He becomes successful. The conclusion should be Krsna. That’s it. Whatever he may be. He may be a musician, he may be artist, he may be physicist, he may be chemist, he may be scientist – whatever he may be, if he writes article on the subject matter and concludes that Krsna is the Supreme, then preach, then he is successful. That’s all. Just like you are theologian. You write theology and prove, “Krsna is the Supreme Lord.” Then your attempt is successful. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk – December 15, 1973, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/AgA8Ix

The Purifying Waters of Door-To-Door Book Distribution.
After our taking a swim in the river along the gorge between Otaki and Napier in NZ, Ameyatma bathed me in the purifying waters of his door-to-door book distribution mission just before the sun went down. We knocked on about twenty doors and took turns doing the presentation of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
It is a bit inconceivable how sweet and gracious the people of Napier were. One lady, whose name is Storm, raced to beat us to the door and had it open before we got there. She was eager to chat with us and told us she already has all of the books we had in our hands. We then remembered Devamrita Swami’s new book, Hiding in Unnatural Happiness, and “returned fire” with “You don’t have this one! It was just published.”
She and her husband very happily gave a donation and took another book to add to her collection. They’re the couple in the attached picture. She even gave us a bag for “your ladies” that came from India, she said. Robert (in the photo with the copy of Beyond Birth and Death) was disconnected and unwilling to take a book, but Ameyatma and I just kept standing there trying to come up with new things to say.
We watched his heart completely soften while we stood there chatting with him, until he found a few coins and happily took the “Beyond Birth and Death”. Jeff, holding the Chant and Be Happy, at first said he wasn’t interested but we threw out our last chance: “You like music though?” and handed him a “Chant and Be Happy”. We told him about the Beatles and George Harrison. He immediately went through a soft-heart metamorphosis before our eyes and clutched the book, exclaiming, “I will read this.” Then he gave a generous donation.
A few Gitas also went out before I started to take photos, including one to a nice couple with a brand new baby crying the whole time we presented the Gita. –ys, Nitai-cand Dasa