Author Archives: Dandavats.com

“How to become a good Vaishnavi wife” course in Kiev…
→ Dandavats

“How to become a good Vaishnavi wife” course in Kiev (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: We must rise early in the morning, bathe, attend mangala-arati, worship the Deities, chant the Hare Krishna mantra, study the Vedic literatures and follow all the rules prescribed by the acaryas and the spiritual master. If we deviate from this process, we may fall down, even though we may be very highly advanced. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.8.8 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/sbfR3U

Oprah & Hare Krishna! August 12, 2016. Dear Friends, Hare…
→ Dandavats

Oprah & Hare Krishna!
August 12, 2016. Dear Friends, Hare Krsna. I thought you might be interested to see this page from the August 2016 issue of Oprah Magazine. The article references the studies on the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra that I conducted in the 1990s. Hare Krsna.
Sincerely, Dhira Govinda das
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/62JUs5

Fortunate People is privileged to present! First ever!! (2 min…
→ Dandavats

Fortunate People is privileged to present! First ever!! (2 min video)
~:-) TOP 15 MANTRA MUSIC CHART (-:~
Srila Prabhupada: “My heart is always burning in the fire of material existence, and I have made no provisions for getting out of it. The only remedy is hari-nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka-Vrndavana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.22 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/U5KUEn

Volume One (San Francisco/London) of Shyamasundar’s…
→ Dandavats

Volume One (San Francisco/London) of Shyamasundar’s long-awaited three-volume “Chasing Rhinos With The Swami” is about to go to press!
To find out more about the book, to read exciting excerpts, and to pre-order your copies at a heavily discounted price, go to chasingrhinos.com
Here’s what Satyaraj das (Steven Rosen) has to say about “Chasing Rhinos”:
“In ‘Chasing Rhinos with the Swami,’ Shyamasundara Das has accomplished something truly remarkable. He successfully takes his readers back in time, with descriptive language and storytelling expertise, and gives them – fully– the association of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. There have been other memoirs involving His Divine Grace, to be sure, but the attention to detail and visceral manifestation of time and place found in Shyamasundara’s book is something new. It has never before been accomplished in quite this way. His street savvy, intelligence, common sense, and love for Prabhupada all come through with a tangible freshness, allowing readers entrance into the narrative in a very real way. He seems to remember it all, and he shares it with exacting specificity. He was there! And you know it by the way he writes about it. He lived it, and now, through him, you will live it too! A must read for all students of philosophy, the 60s counterculture, cosmic consciousness, eastern thought, and life itself.”
– Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa), author of 30 books on eastern spirituality; senior editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies; and associate editor of Back to Godhead magazine

Dr. Kenneth R. Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami): Book endorsement:…
→ Dandavats

Dr. Kenneth R. Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami): Book endorsement: I am grateful to Prof. Francis X. Clooney, the Parkman Professor of Divinity at Harvard University and my former doctoral supervisor, who has written a very nice endorsement for our (Ravi M. Gupta & my) soon to appear *The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Selected Readings*:
“The Bhagavata Purana is one of the most important theological and devotional texts of Hinduism. Yet, given its great length and complexity, it has rarely been read even by the wider audience of scholars and students, beyond the justly famous narratives of Krishna found in its tenth book. Most readers remain unfamiliar with the rich range of its philosophical and religious narratives, its fascinating and entertaining narrative of cosmology and myth, its teachings on religious practice and devotion, and its important articulation of a fundamental Vaishnava theology. Gupta and Valpey have put their Indological and theological skills to good use in their excellent translations of key texts judiciously selected from all twelve books, thus making the Purana truly accessible for the first time. It is also a welcome companion to the scholarly essays found in their The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition (2013). Together, these volumes will quickly find a place in the classroom and on the shelves of every library collection attuned to the greater Hindu traditions.”

Pilgrimage to New Vraja Dhāma (Album with photos) Here are some…
→ Dandavats

Pilgrimage to New Vraja Dhāma (Album with photos)
Here are some photos of the wonderful New Vraja Dhama as we wondered here and there loudly chanting, glorifying Rādhe Śyāma and Vraja with 20 Bhakti College students in theology. There was sweet kīrtana, lots of kṛṣṇa-kathā, spontaneous dramas of pastimes, drawing of demons, swimming in the Yamunā. One evening after a full day of parikrama the students requested us to teach them how to make flower garlands and 14 of them were patiently stringing flowers and kept calling out, “this is bliss! this is bliss!” The last day we did a quiz for them to revise what they learned which was also fun. It was an amazing 5 days in the abode of the most beautiful and merciful Rādhā-Śyāmasundara.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/VaqiC6

ISKCON Pakistan JAGANNATH RATH YATRA 2016 & Celebrations of…
→ Dandavats

ISKCON Pakistan JAGANNATH RATH YATRA 2016 & Celebrations of ISKCON GOLDEN JUBILEE (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Chanting the holy name is the chief means of attaining love of Godhead. This chanting or devotional service does not depend on any paraphernalia, nor on ones having taken birth in a good family. By humility and meekness one attracts the attention of Krishna. That is the verdict of all the Vedas. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 4.71 purport).
Find them here: https://goo.gl/FLzTnx

Bliss Along The Baltic Sea (14 min video) Indradyumna…
→ Dandavats

Bliss Along The Baltic Sea (14 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Summer 2016 has been just like the spiritual world for the 300 members of our festival tour in Poland. From Vedic scriptures we learn that in the spiritual sky, every step is a dance, every word is a song and there’s a festival every day. While sharing such good fortune with others our bliss knows no bounds!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/zgvro7

Los Angeles Rathayatra 2016 (Album with photos) Srila…
→ Dandavats

Los Angeles Rathayatra 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 12.3.51 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/8DRsdI

Toronto Rathayatra Inspires Second Gen Leadership. Madhava…
→ Dandavats

Toronto Rathayatra Inspires Second Gen Leadership.
Madhava Smullen: Growing every year in size and popularity under a second generation team, Toronto Rathayatra has inspired younger devotees to take on more and more leadership in their community, and senior devotees to hand more and more to them.
Seventeen years ago, when he was only eighteen, just one second generation devotee, Kevala Bhakti Das, became part of the Rathayatra organization team. Today, the festival is put on by thirty-two younger devotees from high school kids to thirty-somethings, heading up twenty different departments.
This year’s Rathayatra, Toronto’s 44th annual, was the biggest yet. It began with a ‘pre-festival’ on June 26th, giving the public a taster of what to expect three weeks before the parade.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/bpJ0Ux

Rathyatra in Bern, Switzerland (2016) (Album with photos)…
→ Dandavats

Rathyatra in Bern, Switzerland (2016) (Album with photos)
Ecstatic Rathyatra festival in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
Srila Prabhupada: If one chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra without offences, all of one’s sinful actions are surely atoned for immediately, but one should not commit such deeds again, for that is an offence. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.16.14 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hTlCqE

Cleanliness is next to Godliness! Krishna-kripa Das: Dhirashanta…
→ Dandavats

Cleanliness is next to Godliness!
Krishna-kripa Das: Dhirashanta Goswami, as part of his japa workshop at the Vaishnava Summer Festival (Baltic), graded devotees’ bead bags on a scale of 1 to 10. Cleanliness counts for a lot. He advises to wash them a minimum of once a week. Mine was not washed since the Czech Padayatra and Polish Festival tour and thus I only got 4 of 10. I shall try to keep the standard of washing once a week from now on. 🙂

A Most Amazing Transformation! I’ve been encouraged by…
→ Dandavats

A Most Amazing Transformation!
I’ve been encouraged by Vijaya Prabhu, Bhrgupati Prabhu, and the Los Angeles Temple President, Svavasa Prabhu, to write this story. I would like to include a name and picture of the main person in the story, but considering the situation, it could be a bit risky. For now I’ll call my friend “Al”.
After the 2016 Orlando shootings due to religious violence, I was having a lot of doubts in my mind. I wasn’t too sure about Islam, and I was considering whether this was truly a bona fide religion. Hearing my doubts, Krishna then sent me the perfect person.
I was approached by a man in his thirties named Al, from Saudi Arabia, while distributing books at a book table. We spoke for about thirty minutes, and he was asking intelligent questions. He wasn’t challenging at all, and seemed very inquisitive. He ended up taking nine big books, and gave me a hundred-dollar donation. I was really impressed.
Two days later, he came to our Govinda’s restaurant with his Muslim friends, and we all had lunch together. I was really amazed to see how Krishna was clearing my doubts in such a mystical and perfect way. It doesn’t end there.
Recently, during the 2016 Los Angeles Rathayatra festival, Al dressed in a dhoti and kurta that he purchased there. He had a bag in his hand, along with all his old clothes, and said he “feels free now.” I couldn’t believe it. We had a great time connecting, and I introduced him to the BBT Trustee for the Far East and Middle East, Satyanarayan Prabhu. They got along great, and Al took more books in his own language.
Al will be going back to Saudi Arabia within a month. He was just here completing his masters degree at a university. He just messaged me today after the festival, and thanked me for such a wonderful time. He specifically said:
“The Rathayatra parade was a great and beautiful journey. I’m sure those excellent moments will carry my soul forever. ”
Krishna is amazing.
Jaya Caitanya Dasa

Harinam bliss in Prague, Czech Republic (Album with…
→ Dandavats

Harinam bliss in Prague, Czech Republic (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Absolute Truth is Sri Krsna, and loving devotion to Sri Krsna in pure love is achieved through congregational chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all bliss.” (CC Adi-lila 1.96)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/C9ihSU

Tenerife – VII Festival de la India en las Américas (Album with…
→ Dandavats

Tenerife – VII Festival de la India en las Américas (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Haridasa Thakura was born in a Mohammedan family. From the very beginning of his life he was never trained in the karma-kanda system, but because he was always chanting the holy name of the Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted him as namacarya, the authority in chanting the holy name. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.9.4 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/LAL0yd

Remain in Krishna’s army! Jayapataka Swami remembers: My father…
→ Dandavats

Remain in Krishna’s army!
Jayapataka Swami remembers: My father he reacted very angry, he said “You come back immediately, otherwise I will turn your name over to the American Army and you will die in Vietnam. So I asked for how long, but my mother she didn’t know what to say. Later she came up to see me. Meanwhile I asked Prabhupada, “What should I do?” He said, “Better you fight in Krishna’s army. Rather than being in American Army be in Krishna’s army”

Devotees from Africa visit Mayapur and perform Harinama with…
→ Dandavats

Devotees from Africa visit Mayapur and perform Harinama with enthusiasm (6 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: “My heart is always burning in the fire of material existence, and I have made no provisions for getting out of it. The only remedy is hari-nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka-Vrndavana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.22 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/GGf0fM

‘Walking Monk’ makes his way through Omaha on long, hot trek…
→ Dandavats

‘Walking Monk’ makes his way through Omaha on long, hot trek across United States.
Maggie O’Brien / World-Herald staff writer: “The Walking Monk” made a stop in Omaha on Tuesday as part of his journey across America to celebrate his faith and promote an active, healthy lifestyle.
“It’s about going back to the basics,” Bhaktimarga Swami said. “Like Gandhi said, a simple life, high thinking. I see this as doing both of those things.”
Swami, 63, is a Hindu monk from Canada. He is walking from New York to San Francisco to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Hare Krishna religious movement, which emphasizes spiritual well-being and clean, simple living.
Swami changed his name from John Peter Vis when he became a monk in 1973. He wears an orange robe and black Crocs on his feet.
He considers walking an ideal form of exercise, he said, because anyone can do it, and it allows time for self-reflection.
This tour is broken into three parts. He started last fall in Boston, went to New York, then into Pennsylvania. The second leg started again in Pennsylvania over Mother’s Day weekend and took him to Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska. He arrived in Omaha on Tuesday.
Next up is Grand Island on Wednesday, where he’ll stop his journey before completing the third leg of the trip next summer.
Swami, who also practices yoga, said he started walking long distances to get away from the chaos of the world.
He has walked across Canada four times. He’s also trekked through Ireland (he said it was wet), Israel (dry), Ghana (hot) and Trinidad (humid).
It hasn’t been easy walking through the Midwest, he said. Swami usually gets up at 4 a.m. to beat the heat and averages about 20 miles a day.
“It’s been a hot, sweaty summer,” he said.
Source: http://goo.gl/OEJaux

Looking for the Comedy clip cited by Prabhupada in Montreal to…
→ Dandavats

Looking for the Comedy clip cited by Prabhupada in Montreal to the three couples going to London.
We’re writing on behalf of HH Mukunda Goswami to request if anyone might have seen or know of anyone who might have seen the comedy movie clip that Srila Prabhupada narrated to the devotees who were leaving for London to start the movement. It is a clip where Charlie Chaplin (or perhaps Max Linder or perhaps an impersonator) sits on a bench and some boys put glue on it so his coat gets stuck. When he gets up there is a rip and then he starts dancing with a ripped coat tail. He starts to dance with a lot of gusto and enthusiasm that everybody thinks it is a new fashion and they also go and rip their own coat tails and start dancing. In this way he starts a new trend.
Maharaj has been looking for this clip for over 12 years. After talking to film historians we realize that it is even possible that this was not even a Charlie Chaplin movie and could have been done by Max Linder or even an impersonator. If you can kindly spread this message and if we can somehow dig out this piece of our history that would be a wonderful offering to Srila Prabhupada on this 50th year. Our request is if we can share this message on your Facebook pages that might help us reach a much wider group of people who might be able to give us any lead.
If you’ve any leads about this clip, please contact us at: LAGARWAL108@GMAIL.COM
ys
Vidarbhasuta devi dasi & Lokadhyaksa dasa