Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Gaura Purnima Festival in Iskcon San Diego (Album with…
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Gaura Purnima Festival in Iskcon San Diego (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Krishna says that his devotee is never vanquished. Therefore all the disciples practicing Krishna consciousness should obediently follow the regulative principles and remain fixed in chanting the holy name of the Lord. Then there need be no fear. Otherwise, one’s position is very dangerous, especially in this Kali-yuga. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.1.58 Purport)
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March 25. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 25. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Letter to Sumati Morarji.
Prabhupada expressed his optimism about his situation in a letter to Sumati Morarji:
I was very much encouraged when you wrote to say, “I feel that you should stay there until you fully recover from your illness, and return only after you have completed your mission.” I think these lines dictated to you are the words of Lord Bala Krishna expressed through your goodness.
You will be pleased to know that I have improved my health back to normal, and my missionary work is nicely progressing. I hope my project to start a temple of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna will be realized by the grace of the Lord.
Since I came to New York from Butler, Pennsylvania, I have rented the above room at seventy dollars per month, and I am delivering lectures on the Bhagwat-gitaand Sriman-Bhagwatam, accompanied by sankirtana. And the American ladies and gentlemen come to hear me. You will be surprised to know that they do not understand the language of sankirtana, yet they hear with attention. The movement which I have started here is completely new to them, because Americans are generally acquainted with the Indian yoga gymnastics as performed by some Indian yogis here. They have never heard of the bhakti cult, of the science of Krishna before, and still they are hearing me. This is a great success for me.
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All glories… Let’s show our gratitude to the devotees who…
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All glories…
Let’s show our gratitude to the devotees who were worshipping the deities when we visited the temple, for those who were keeping it very clean and burning incense, let’s show our gratitude for those who cooked that delicious prasada that we put in our mouths for the first time.
Let’s show our gratitude to those who gave us Srila Prabhupada’s ‘transformational’ books.
Society means people together working with a purpose, and that is ISKCON; our home.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Hare Krsna!

Srila Prabhupada: Please continue to try and convince the world…
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Srila Prabhupada: Please continue to try and convince the world leaders who are in Washington D.C. about our Krishna Consciousness program.
A letter of Srila Prabhupada: November 12, 1970
My Dear Damodara,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 4th October, 1970 and I’ve noted the contents with much pleasure.
I am glad to see that you are working in the universities. They are a good field for spreading our Krishna Consciousness activities. Try and get all our books accepted in the college libraries and classroom courses. That will be our real success. Dr. Cenkner is correct in saying that Sankaracarya’s belief is personal. Actually he is a covered personalist. He became impersonalist just to drive away Buddhism. All of India was Buddhist voidism. So, although a personalist, he had to keep pace with voidism by expounding impersonalism. There is very little difference between impersonalism and voidism, but because he had to bring Buddhists back to the Vedic cultural form, he adopted impersonalism. From the Padma Purāṇa, it is learned that Sankaracarya is Lord Siva, and who can be a greater devotee than Lord Siva? Lord Siva is considered to be the foremost Vaisnava.
*Please continue to try and convince the world leaders who are in Washington D.C. about our Krishna Consciousness program. Why don’t you approach the Congressmen and Representatives and inform them of the work that our men are doing within their states and cities. If they are favorably impressed with our work, they may be able to give us government land and property and so many other facilities which we can utilize to aid all of the population.* I think so many men will be glad to receive our books, so please utilize this opportunity. Simply it requires determination and imagination. Maybe you can get the Indian Ambassador and his wife to hold a meeting at which many important men can be invited. If he and his wife are favorably impressed, certainly they can hold a nice meeting one evening. At that meeting you can speak and explain what our movement is and show slides and movies. Make a book table and display all of our books. Never mind if they also like to read from Ramakrishna. If you give them our KRSNA book to read, very soon all other tastes will go away.
Please offer my blessings to all the other Prabhus in Washington. Hope this will meet you in good health.
Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Gaura Purnima celebrations in Vrindavan (5 min video) Govinda…
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Gaura Purnima celebrations in Vrindavan (5 min video)
Govinda Swami: Radhe Shyam’s Boat Festival This Afternoon At Krishna Balaram Mandir!
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)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/mc1TDu

Tanauan Batangas Harinam Sankirtan (Album with photos)…
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Tanauan Batangas Harinam Sankirtan (Album with photos)
Giridhari Swami: We just came back from a beautiful harinama led by Maha Vishnu Goswami Maharaja and five members of the Harinama Ruci sankirtana group. I have been on thousands of harinams over the last 40+ years, but this one was amongst the best. Beyond the 40 local devotees, 10 devotees, visiting from China took part in their first harinama. Even more amazing is that, this was their first exposure to the serious practice of Krishna consciousness. They danced and chanted blissfully for over two hours! Lord Chaitanya’s process is truly intoxicating to anyone who deeply drinks the ambrosia of harinama. Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/jPSA4H

March 24. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 24. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: A Source of New Life.
Moving out of the yoga studio into the small office downstairs gave Prabhupada what he was looking for – his own place – but not even euphemistically could that place be called a temple. His name was on the door; anyone seeking him there could find him. Who would come there? By its opulence and beauty, a temple was supposed to attract people. But Room 307 was just the opposite: it was bare poverty. Even a person interested in spiritual topics would find it uncomfortable to sit on the rugless floor of the room shaped like a narrow railroad car.
One of Dr. Mishra’s students had donated a reel-to-reel tape recorder and Prabhupada recorded some of his solitary bhajanas, which he sang to his own accompaniment on hand cymbals. He also recorded a long, philosophical essay, Introduction to Gitopanisad. “Even if no one attends,” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had told him, “you can go on chanting to the four walls.” But since he was now free to speak his message in the new situation God had provided, he decided to lecture three evenings a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) to whoever would come.
His first audiences consisted mainly of people who had heard about him, or met him, at Dr. Mishra’s yoga studio. And despite the poverty of his room, the meetings became a source of new life to him.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

Prabhupada wanted us to understand that we shouldn’t…
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Prabhupada wanted us to understand that we shouldn’t think, “Now I am very big, I can take over my spiritual master’s position.”
Dina Bandhu: Around 1970, we drove from Boulder to L.A. and were present when Prabhupada started playing the tape of the Govindam prayers. Although it’s taken for granted now, before that time we didn’t play that tape of Yamuna singing.
But on the second or third day that we were there, Prabhupada came into the temple, the tape was put on, and he paid his obeisances. He took some charanamrita and then sat down on the vyasasana, all the while singing along with the tape.
Suddenly we saw tears gliding down Prabhupada’s cheeks. We all felt unqualified to be in his presence. When Prabhupada experienced ecstatic symptoms, you just wanted to lift up one of those linoleum tiles and crawl under it, thinking, “I don’t belong here.”
Then suddenly Prabhupada sniffed, wiped his face, and started chanting the Isopanishad mantras that he was teaching us at the time. He had a deep, rich voice that reminded me of a sea captain.
Every day we would start from the beginning and chant all the verses we knew, and then he would teach us the next verse.
Whenever I came to L.A. I would sit at the foot of Srila Prabhupada’s vyasasana in the temple room. One day Prabhupada sat down on his vyasasana, looking rather concerned.
He pointed toward me but I didn’t know what was wrong. I looked down thinking maybe my dhoti was open but it wasn’t. I looked back up. Prabhupada nodded his head as if to say, “Everything is okay.”
My hands were resting on my knees, and I froze in that position thinking, “Now everything is all right. Whatever was wrong is all right now.” I sat there while Prabhupada lectured but in the middle of the lecture, Prabhupada got disturbed again.
I was wobbling my knee. Prabhupada stopped speaking, pointed at me, and said, “Don’t do that.” I stopped doing it.
On a morning walk in Vrindavan, Prabhupada was preaching heavily against abortion and birth control. He gave the example that,
“If I have rented an apartment and you stop me from living in it, that is illegal. Or if I am living in an apartment and you come and kick me out, that is also illegal. You will be arrested. Similarly, that soul has rented that womb which is his apartment, and if you prevent him from staying there it is illegal. He’s inside and you kick him out—that is illegal.”
He explained how those who commit abortion will go from womb to womb and will never see the light of day. He was so heavy.
On the way back, Prabhupada was a little quiet. Then one Indian man said, “I read today in the newspaper that Guru Maharaj Ji’s mother said that Guru Maharaj Ji is a bogus fellow. She’s denounced him.”
Prabhupada and everyone else laughed. We walked a few more steps and the Indian man said, “Yes, practically she has finished him.” Prabhupada stopped, dug his cane into the street, looked at all of us and said, “She should have finished him in the womb.”
Prabhupada explained that a mouse went to a yogi and complained that a cat was bothering him. The yogi said, “What do you want?”
The mouse said, “I want to become a cat, and then the cat won’t bother me.” The yogi waved his hand and the mouse became a cat.
Later the cat (who was previously the mouse) went back to the yogi. The yogi said, “Now, what’s the matter? You want something?”
The cat said, “Now a dog is bothering me. I want to become a dog.” The yogi said, “All right, become a dog.” So the cat became a dog.
After a while he came back to the yogi, who said, “Do you want something?” The dog said, “Yes, now a tiger is bothering me. I want to become a tiger.”
The yogi said, “All right, become a tiger.” When the dog became a tiger, he looked at the yogi with longing eyes. The yogi said, “Oh, do you want to eat me?” The tiger shook his head “yes.”
The yogi said, “punar mushika bhava,” which means, “again become a mouse.” The tiger immediately transformed into a mouse. When we heard this we all burst out laughing, but Prabhupada meant it to be serious, and later we understood what the story meant.
Prabhupada was telling us that if we become puffed up and fail to realize that Prabhupada is actually the power behind us, then we would fall back to our former position.
Prabhupada wanted us to understand that we shouldn’t think, “Now I am very big, I can take over my spiritual master’s position.” After he told that story, Prabhupada looked at me and said, “Try to understand. Don’t laugh.”
Excerpt from “Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint”
by Siddhanta das

Gaura Purnima celebrations at Iskcon of Silicon Valley! Ecstatic…
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Gaura Purnima celebrations at Iskcon of Silicon Valley! Ecstatic Kirtan lead by Vaisesika Dasa Prabhu and amazing prasadam! Haribol!!
Srila Prabhupada: The sound of the spiritual world is nectarean and eternal, whereas the sound of the material world is hackneyed and subject to end. The sound of the Holy Name – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare – everlastingly increases the enthusiasm of the chanter. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.21.22 Purport)

March 23. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 23. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Free to Preach.
Room 307 at 72nd Street was never meant for use as a residence or ashram or lecture hall. It was only a small, narrow office without furniture or a telephone. Its door held a large pane of frosted glass, the kind common in all offices; above the door was a glass-paneled transom. Prabhupada placed his blankets on the floor before his metal foot locker, which now became a makeshift desk where he wrote. He slept on the floor. There were no facilities here for cooking, or even for bathing, so daily he had to walk to Dr. Mishra’s apartment.
When he had lived in Room 501 at Dr. Mishra’s yoga ashram, Dr. Mishra had financed his needs. But now Prabhupada was on his own, and whatever he could raise by selling his books, he would have to use for his daily maintenance and for the monthly rent of seventy-two dollars. He noted that for a little powdered chili, the West End Superette charged twenty-five cents, ten times what he would have paid in India. He had no guaranteed income, his expenses had increased and his physical comforts had reduced. But at least he had his own place. Now he was free to preach as he liked.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

Latest TOVP updates. (Album with photos) Sadbhuja Das:…
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Latest TOVP updates. (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: We’re pleased to inform you of the latest happenings at the TOVP : 3 of the 8 chatris have been completed with blue tiles and kalashes. More segments have been put onto the 3 domes, in preparation for the kalashes. The 4th stage (out of 6) of the decorative sandstone features has been completed. Also 2 more Demigods; Lord Brahma and Laksmi Devi are nearly completed, while the life-size clay model of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur is going on.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/GAQ2mu

The Garland of Prema-Nama. “Prema-bhakti is the essence of…
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The Garland of Prema-Nama.
“Prema-bhakti is the essence of bhakti. If we prepare a garland of flowers, one thread is required and it is woven together. Similarly, when the question of nama-prema-mala comes, what is the thread of that garland? That thread is prema. The mala is woven together with the thread of prema. It is nama-prema-mala. The example is the japa-mala. With our japa-mala we are chanting. That means you should chant the Holy Name feeling acute pangs of separation from Krsna. Then your chanting will be offenceless and the pure name will come out.
This is the most hidden topic in Goloka. It was not given at any time before, but when Mahaprabhu came He gave it, golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana. It does not belong to this material world. It belongs to Goloka Vrndavana.”
A lecture on Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 17.34-36, delivered by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja on 7 April 1995, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/8cYLKf

March 22. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 22. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Singhania Not Interested.
Prabhupada’s series of correspondence with Mr. Singhania, which began hopefully, ended negatively. Mr. Singhania did not reply personally to Prabhupada’s last letter. He had his secretary, Mr. Iyer, write to Prabhupada, thoroughly discouraging his last hopes for purchasing a building in New York.
I regret to write that Sir Padampatji is not interested in the scheme of building a Radha-Krishna temple in New York at present. In regard to the inquiry in the last paragraph of your last letter, Sri Padampatji duly received your books of Srimad-Bhagwatam from your Delhi office. Yours faithfully.
Seeing him from a distance – a tiny figure walking Manhattan streets and avenues among many other tiny figures, a foreigner whose visa had almost run out – we come upon only the external appearance of Srila Prabhupada. These days of struggle were real enough, and very difficult, but his transcendental consciousness was always predominant. He was not living in Manhattan consciousness, but was absorbed in dependence upon Krishna; just as while on the Jaladuta he had suffered his heart attacks, his reading of Caitanya-caritamrta had supplied him “the nectarine of life.”
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

Three Steps. Sutapa das: The three steps of anything: 1)…
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Three Steps.
Sutapa das: The three steps of anything: 1) Initial enthusiasm, 2) doubts, disinterest and struggle 3) eventual reward for the committed. This seems to be the standard pattern for most things in life: studies, career, relationships, hobbies, and yes, even spirituality. The beginning of our spiritual journey is often characterised by idealism. Everything is fresh and fascinating, a whole new world to explore and unlimited opportunities to pursue. We can’t imagine any problems, since it all seems so simple and straightforward. We have finally found what we’ve always been looking for. Unfortunately that honeymoon period doesn’t last forever. Now familiar with the externals, one is forced to dig a little deeper to maintain their commitment and dedication. What in the beginning seemed so natural, now requires a good dose of discipline and determination to maintain.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/jq3n3u

ISKCON 50th Anniversary offering by Jayadeva das (5 min…
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ISKCON 50th Anniversary offering by Jayadeva das (5 min video)
Early 70’s pop star John Richardson aka Jayadeva Prabhu is set to release his ISKCON 50th Anniversary offering–the virtual mantra choir. Having gathered the voices of devotees from more than 25 countries, Jayadeva conducts the Mantra Choir in singing the name of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The track will be released on Gaura Purnima day (23 March) and can be live streamed from www.mantrachoir.com.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/dSVCsM

Navadvipa-Mandal Parikrama 2016 (6 min video) Parikrama at New…
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Navadvipa-Mandal Parikrama 2016 (6 min video)
Parikrama at New Varshana, New Zealand.
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)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Nz00Ft

The “Urge To Speak” Vaco-vegam means the urge to speak. This…
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The “Urge To Speak”
Vaco-vegam means the urge to speak. This was the topic of discussion in our morning Sadhana Class at TKG Academy last week, as older classes study the first verse of the Nectar of Instruction.
“Why would we want to control the urge to speak? When should one DEFINITELY TALK? How to speak pleasantly and for the benefit of others?” Eye-opening discussions ranged from “I won’t interrupt my mom on the phone.” to “What if I hurt someone with my words?!” to how to discuss issues that arise naturally in relationships.
Was it not such a lovely coincidence that His Holiness Giriraj Swami had given an eye-opening lecture on this very same topic during the recent Kirtan50 festival in Dallas? The few students who had attended quoted his words. Surprisingly, however, Sri Krishna had a special surprise in store for us. That very same Swami, His Holiness Giriraj Maharaj, had agreed to a private darshan with all of us in his quarters!
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/7yTd5R

Harinam Sankirtan at Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,…
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Harinam Sankirtan at Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday 20th Mar 2016 (Album with photos)
Sri Jagannath Mandir Kuala Lumpur organized Harinam on 20th March 2016 at Brickfields in conjunction with the upcoming Gaura Purnima festival (23/03/16). HH Mahavishnu Maharaj together with some members of the Harinam Ruci team did wonderful ecstatic kirtan. Total of 83 Small Srila Prabhupada’s books & 100 pax of Prasadam was distributed.
Photos by the courtesy of HG Rasanath Prabhu.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/i84KD3

March 21. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 21. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: “We Cannot Help You”
He wrote again to Sri Padmapat Singhania, requesting him to send a man from India to supervise work on the temple in New York, as Mr. Singhania had previously suggested.
There is no record of any reply to this request.
Prabhupada wrote again to Sumati Morarji, requesting her to please send him a mrdanga to accompany his chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. He also requested her that in the future, when he would send many men from India, she oblige by giving them free passage on Scindia Steamship Lines.
No reply.
As his financial situation became more urgent and his hopes more strained, his support from India withdrew in silence. His unanswered correspondence was itself a kind of message, loud and clear: “We cannot help you.”
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

Rishikesh Harinama, Himalaya, India (Album with photos)
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Rishikesh Harinama, Himalaya, India (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna movement is present in every millennium of Lord Brahma’s life, and the holy name is chanted in all the higher planetary systems, including Brahmaloka and Candraloka, not to speak of Gandharvaloka and Apsaroloka. The sankirtana movement that was started in this world five hundred years ago by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is therefore not a new movement.

HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami: Cooperate and get benedictions! (25…
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HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami: Cooperate and get benedictions! (25 min video)
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear sons of the King, I am very much pleased by the friendly relationships among you. All of you are engaged in one occupation—devotional service. I am so pleased with your mutual friendship that I wish you all good fortune. Now you may ask a benediction of Me.
PURPORT
Since the sons of King Pracinabarhisat were all united in Krsna consciousness, the Lord was very pleased with them. Each and every one of the sons of King Pracinabarhisat was an individual soul, but they were united in offering transcendental service to the Lord. The unity of the individual souls attempting to satisfy the Supreme Lord or rendering service to the Lord is real unity. In the material world such unity is not possible. Even though people may officially unite, they all have different interests. In the United Nations, for instance, all the nations have their particular national ambitions, and consequently they cannot be united. Disunity between individual souls is so strong within this material world that even in a society of Krsna consciousness, members sometimes appear disunited due to their having different opinions and leaning toward material things. Actually, in Krsna consciousness there cannot be two opinions. There is only one goal: to serve Krsna to one’s best ability. If there is some disagreement over service, such disagreement is to be taken as spiritual. Those who are actually engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be disunited in any circumstance. This makes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very happy and willing to award all kinds of benediction to His devotees, as indicated in this verse. We can see that the Lord is immediately prepared to award all benedictions to the sons of King Pracinabarhisat.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/gWlwhs