Author Archives: Dandavats.com

The 2nd Vaisnava Film Awards Festival (THIRD of four parts) (13 min video)
The 2nd Vaisnava Film Awards Festival in Mayapur took place on 18, 19, and 20th March 2016.
Seventeen golden Nityananda Awards were granted to recipients of special achievements and lifetime achievements, in an exciting 90 minutes ceremony, on the stage of Mayapur Festival’s main entertainments pandal.
Ground-breaking new videos were shown, each before it’s respective producer/director was honored by this rare event’s formal recognition.
No doubt this 2nd Award’s Festival is setting a trend that is likely to perdure and grow in popularity in ISKCON. So is the wish of organiser Nrsimhananda Das of Iskcon Television, who was assisted this year by Vasudeva Das, of BhakTV and VANDE (Vaisnava Arts For A New Devotional Era).
The Awards Night was filmed by Subuddhi Ray Das, and edited with the original HD clips by Vasudeva Das.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/0Rhh7K

Ramayana theater in Bhaktivedanta Manor (Album with photos)
Bhaktivedanta Players: Another successful drama performed..
No matter how many times we do this play crowds just can’t get enough of it. Jai Sri Rama!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/AM3tO2

Historic Times! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: It was an action packed weekend as the Beijing devotees opened their n…

April 18. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Dovetailing With the Supreme Consciousness.
The Swami’s main stress is on what he calls “dovetailing your consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness”… Krishna is the Supreme Consciousness. Arjuna, as the representative individual consciousness, is asked to act intelligently in collaboration with the Supreme Consciousness, then he will be free from the bondage of birth, death, old age and disease.
Consciousness is a popular word in America. There’s consciousness expansion, cosmic consciousness, altered states of consciousness, and now – dovetailing the individual consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness. This is the perfection of consciousness, Prabhupada explains. This is the love and peace that everyone is really after. And yet, Prabhupada talks of it in terms of war.
So we shall not suffer a pinch if we dovetail our desires with the Supreme Lord. We simply have to learn the art – how to dovetail. Nothing has to be changed. The fighting man did not change into an artist or a musician. If you are a fighting man, you remain a fighting man. If you are a musician, you remain a musician. If you are a medical man, you remain a medical man. Whatever you are, you remain. But dovetail it. If by my eating the Lord is satisfied, then that is my perfection. If by my fighting the Lord is satisfied, then that is my perfection. So in every sphere of life, we have to know whether the Lord is satisfied. That technique we have to learn. Then it is as easy as anything. We have to stop creating our own plans and thoughts and take the perfect plans from the Supreme Lord and execute them. That will become the perfection of our life.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=7

Ipswich Ratha Yatra Queensland Australia (Album with photos)
The devotees from the Bhakti Centre Gold Coast, Brisbane and New …

Hare Krishna Festivals UK – Blissful afternoon chanting Hare Krishna through the streets of Northampton, UK, today. (Album with phot…

Holi celebration in Iskcon New Zealand (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/y6C8XM

Ramanavami celebration in Kiev, Ukraine (Album with 48 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the Padma Purana, Krishna says, mad-bhakta yatra gayanti tatra tisthami narada: “O Narada, I am present wherever My devotees are chanting.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 17.132 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/7mkwsW

NBS#35 Daksa, Sati and Lord Shiva.
Beginning with the fourth canto, this issue covers about Goddess Sati, a chaste wife, who d…

Practicing Love.
Ananda Dasi: When we ask ourselves the question ‘Why do we exist?’ we begin the search for meaning in our lives. If we accept that we exist not just in this life span, but beyond, that question brings us to face the very core of ourselves.
The answer that the teachings of Bhakti give us is that we exist to be in relationship with the source of our existence. That is, we are part of Krishna eternally, exist eternally and the deepest and most satisfying part of our being is to exchange pure love with Him. This is called prema bhakti – the sweetest and most complete type of love.
To love anyone you have to know them, and so the practice of bhakti is the path of reawakening our knowledge of, and love for, Krishna. It’s a combination of the science of the soul, the universe and divinity, as well as the practical application of love in action – literally doing things to express and nurture spiritual love.
In other words, we practice love. Everyday.
But why? Why do we need to practice love if it is part of our inherent nature? Because we have forgotten. Maya, the energy of Krishna’s that creates the material world, covers our true self and we get so involved in this life and this world that we only have a faint sense that we are missing something.
To practice loving Krishna we use head, heart, and hand. We can read and study about His nature and personality, we can express our heartfelt feelings to Him in prayer and contemplation, and we can make beautiful things to offer Him or assist others in their service to Him.
Krishna, who is attractive to all, is drawn to love as bees are drawn to flowers. If we give time everyday to the practice of bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, the yoga of love – we will feel our love for Krishna blossom. It will happen, because love, by nature, is expansive. And Krishna’s love is more expansive and more unlimited than any other love. It is known as ‘anandambuddhi vardhanam’ – an ever increasing ocean of joy.
Love can never be forced but it’s always there if we want it – both to give and to receive. The choice is always ours.

Amazing preaching took place this morning in New Gokula, Vancouver BC! 35 students of a Christian college came to hear about our phi…

April 17. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Michael Grant.
One serious newcomer was Michael Grant. Mike was twenty-four. His father, who was Jewish, owned a record shop in Portland, Oregon where Mike grew up. After studying music at Portland’s Reed College and at San Francisco State, Mike, who played the piano and many other instruments, moved to New York City, along with his girlfriend, hoping to get into music professionally. But he quickly became disenchanted with the commercial music scene. Playing in nightclubs and pandering to commercial demands seemed particularly unappealing. In New York he joined a musicians’ union and worked as a musical arranger and as an agent for several local groups.
Mike lived on the Bowery in an A.I.R. loft on Grand Street. It was a large loft where musicians often congregated for jam sessions. But as he turned more and more to serious composing, he found himself retiring from the social side of the music scene. His interest ran more to the spiritual, quasi-spiritual and mystical books he had been reading. He had encountered several swamis, yogis, and Southside spiritualists in the City, and had taken up hatha yoga. From his first meeting with the Swami, Mike was interested and quite open – as he was with all religious persons. He thought that all genuinely religious people were good, although he did not care to identify with any particular group.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=7

Mechanics of Spirituality.
Sutapa das: When we neglect to invest quality time and attention into performing these simple acts of devotion, we start tending towards the religious more than the spiritual. Here are some classic symptoms of mechanical spirituality:
I ‘fit in’ my practices as opposed to prioritizing a suitable time of day
I ‘multi-task’ my practices as opposed to giving them exclusive focus and attention
I have no serious plans (or desires) to increase and enhance my practices
I look for excuses and justification to neglect my spiritual practices
I have no quality remembrance of the goal while performing my spiritual practices
The mind frequently wanders during my practices, and I happily let it travel.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/Mrjd7K

KK Bindu #373 Released. KK Bindu #373 includes: Translations of various acaryas on a verse of Vedanta-sutra.
The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu e-magazine was just released. This issue includes:
* Remain Foolish – From a letter by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
* No Returning Back – A fresh translation done especially for this issue of Bindu of five different acarya’s commentaries on Vedanta-sutra (4.4.22). It can be downloaded here:
https://archive.org/details/bindu373

Initiation Ceremony April 2016 held at Pakistan (Album with photos)
A devotee, because he is working as a śūdra, he is not a śūdra; neither he is a brāhmaṇa. He is already in the spiritual platform. But for management we have to do that. One can do the śūdra’s work nicely—let him be engaged in that way.
10 Devotees in which 3 of them got Second Initiation and 7 of them got Frist Initiation from HH Gopal Krishna Goswami.
Devotees got further amazed by the Lecture given by Sarvabhauma Prabhu (DR.Shishupal).
A devotee is neither brāhmaṇa nor śūdra. He may act like a śūdra, but he is not śūdra. He may act like a brāhmaṇa; he is not brāhmaṇa. He is Vaiṣṇava. Just like gopīs. The gopīs, they are village cowherds women. They are, according to social construction, they are not very high class. They did not belong to the brāhmaṇa class. But their worship, method of worship, has been taken the highest. Ramyā kācid upāsanā vrajavadhū-vargeṇa. They were village girls, and practically their character was also not good. Because at dead of night they are going to Kṛṣṇa. But why they have been taken as the most topmost devotee of Kṛṣṇa? Because the love was so high class. It is the test, how much one has learned to love Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted. Apparently he may appear as a brāhmaṇa, a śūdra or vaiśya. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.
Second initiation is real initiation. First initiation is the preliminary, just to make him prepared, just like primary and secondary education. The first initiation gives him chance to become purified, and when he is actually purified then he is recognized as a brahmana and that means real initiation. The eternal bond between disciple and spiritual master begins from the first day he hears. Just like my spiritual master.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qtfguP

Harinama in Kumeu, New Zealand (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: As soon as you offer yourself to be enjoyed by Krishna as servant, according to His order you serve, then immediately you are in the spiritual world. If you want to remain in the spiritual world, this temple is the spiritual world. We are not living in Melbourne. This temple is not Melbourne. It is Vaikuntha. It is Vrindavan. So if you stick to this temple service, Krishna’s service, then you are not in this material world. Melbourne, June 25, 1974.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/0KlVe0

Harinama in Kyoto, Japan (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy n…

Book distribution in Hollywood, CA (Album with photos)
HH Devamrita Swami, Bhrigupati Das, and Jaya Kush distribute books toge…

April 16. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: The Attraction of Sound
Carol: It was a very interracial, music-oriented scene. There were a few professional musicians, and a lot of people who enjoyed playing or just listening. Some people were painting in some of the lofts. And that’s basically what was going on. We had memorable kirtanas. One time there was a beautiful ceremony. Some of us went over early to prepare for it. There must have been a hundred people who came that day.
For the Bowery crowd, sound was spirit and spirit was sound, in a merging of music and meditation. But for Prabhupada, music without the name of God wasn’t meditation; it was sense gratification, or at most, a kind of stylized, impersonal meditation. But he was glad to see the musicians coming to play along in his kirtanas, to hear him and to chant responsively. Some, having stayed up all night playing somewhere on their instruments, would come by in the morning and sing with the Swami. He did not dissuade them from their focus on sound; rather, he gave them sound. In the Vedas, sound is said to be the first element in the material creation; the source of sound is God and God is eternally a person. Prabhupada’s emphasis was on getting people to chant God’s personal, transcendental name. Whether they took it as jazz, folk music, rock, or Indian meditation made no difference, as long as they began to chant Hare Krishna.
Carol: Whenever he had the chanting, the people were fairly in awe of the Swami. On the Bowery a kind of transcendence came out in a ringing of the cymbals. He used the harmonium and many people played hand cymbals. Sometimes he played the drum. In the very beginning he stressed the importance of sound, and the realization of Godhead through sound. That was, I suppose, the attraction that these musicians found in him – the emphasis on sound as a means to attaining transcendence in the Godhead. But he wanted a serious thing. He was interested in discipleship.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=7

Holi Festival of Colors 360 Degree Video (3 min video)
Experience the biggest Holi Festival of Colors in the Western Hemisphere in 360° video. In such a combative and divided world, attending the Holi Festival and immersing yourself in its philosophy of love and acceptance is a relief. Caru Das, the temple’s priest, explains.
To watch 360-degree videos, you’ll need the latest version of Chrome, Opera, Firefox, or Internet Explorer on your computer. On mobile, use the latest version of the YouTube app for Android or iOS.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/lOQ784

Sri Sri Radha Govinda Hari 20th Anniversary ISKCON NEPAL 04/13/2016 (Album with 295 photos)
Sri Sri Radha Govinda Hari had been…

Hare Krishna Festivals UK – York Festival – 14th April 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Devotional service must cont…

Suitable Husband Suitable Wife (video-lecture with Mahatma das given 2016-04-13, at ISKCON Chowpatty)
Srila Prabhupada: In this…

999th Birthday!
Kripamoya das: April 10 is the birthday of Ramanujacarya, the great teacher and organiser of the Sri Sampradaya. The great saint wrote books of amazing clarity and logical argumentation, poetry and devotion. He reorganised and upgraded temple worship in hundreds of towns, and created an India-wide human network of teachers and spiritual preceptors. Above all, he was an affectionate guardian to those who took shelter of him; who served him with dedication and love for many years until his passing in 1137 at the grand age of 120.

Lord Rama Is Ideal In All Respect.
A video-lecture on the glories of Lord Ramacandra given by Gour Govinda Swami on 1 April 199…Read More…

Amazing India: The Holy Places of Lord Rama (15 min video)
This video takes us to the holy places of Lord Rama in India, where …

Showing The Way (5 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: The formula of chanting Hare Krishna and dancing in ecstasy was introduced 500…

April 15. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Evening Kirtanas.
Prabhupada held his evening meetings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, just as he had uptown. The loft was out of the way for most of his acquaintances and it was on the Bowery. A cluster of sleeping derelicts regularly blocked the street-level entrance, and the visitors would find as many as half a dozen bums to step over before climbing the four flights of stairs. But it was something new; you could go and sit with a group of hip people and watch the Swami lead kirtana. The room was dimly lit, and Prabhupada would burn incense. Many casual visitors came and went. One of them – Gunther – had vivid impressions.
Gunther: You walked right off the Bowery into a room filled with incense. It was quiet. Everyone was talking in hushed tones, not really talking at all. Swamiji was sitting in the front of the room in meditation. There was a tremendous feeling of peace, which I had never had before. I happened to have studied for two years to become a minister and was into meditation, study and prayer, but this was my first time to do anything Eastern or Hindu. There were lots of pillows around and mats on the floor for people to sit on. I don’t think there were any pictures of statues. It was just Swamiji, incense and mats, and obviously the respect of the people in the room for him.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=7

Video coverage of St. Augustine Ratha Yatra
Festival of Chariots, or Rathayatra, is an annual event celebrating Indian and Hin…

Modern government? Their only business is how to collect tax and divide it amongst the government servants!
Srila Prabhupada: So there are some remarkable points in this verse. Dasyu-prayesu rajasu. Rajasu means government. Raja, king, or government. So monarchy is now abolished practically all over the world. Now it is democratic government. So this so-called democratic government or Communist government, as they are going on, they will become rogues and thieves, dasyu-prayesu. All the rogues, thieves, plunderers, they will capture. Because it is by vote. So dasyu… Just like plunderers, rogues, they on the point of revolver, they take away your money, so they will take vote on the point of revolver. Actually, it is happening. In Korea it so happened, that sometimes the Communists are coming in power, and sometimes the capitalists coming in power, America and Russia. So poor people, as soon as there is Communist government, they are under the influence: “If you don’t do this, then you’ll be shot.” By force. The people do not know what is government generally. They want to live peacefully. They want a secure place. So that is not their business, modern government. Their only business is how to collect tax and divide it amongst the government servants. That’s all. SB 1.3.25 class

Preaching program in Kiev, Ukraine (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the whit…

Salavation For Dummies.
Samapriya devi dasi: Riding around in a burnt out jaloppy,
fuming and leaking it’s all become sloppy
creaking and rattling tired and floppy,
maybe I should get a new shinning copy.
Do I really want to go through all this again?
There’s always problems from beginning to end.
Stand up for your rights your word to defend
and searching for someone on whom to depend.
We speak what we realize and it’s become clear
most of us lonely and covered with fear.
The time now is coming, the last act to appear
when we reap what we sow and become what we hear.
Make our lives simple what more can we do?
It’s passing us by as though time just flew.
But we have the answer the ultimate clue
on your knees to receive it, and it’s given to you.
Handed to us through disciplic succession
in one strand of beads, the final concession.
We must take it up as our only possession.
Salvation for Dummies in this age of deception.

Harinama in Athens, Greece (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of …

Zen Master’s Home (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Last night we entertained the elite of Beijing in the home of a famous Zen Master. Charmed by our philosophy, our talented musicians and the holy names people were swept off their feet and chanted and danced in great happiness in the courtyard of that prestigious residence.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Q3I4yV

April 14. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Sanskrit Lessons.
It was perhaps because of Carl’s interest in Sanskrit that Prabhupada began holding Sanskrit classes. Carl and David and a few others would spend hours learning Sanskrit under Prabhupada’s guidance. Using a chalkboard he found in the loft, Prabhupada taught the alphabet, and his students wrote their exercises in his notebooks. Prabhupada would look over their shoulders to see if they were writing correctly and he would review their pronunciation. His students were learning not simply Sanskrit, but the instructions of Bhagavad-gita. Each day he would give them a verse to copy in the Sanskrit alphabet (devanagari), transliterated into the Roman alphabet, and then translated word-for-word into English. But their interest in Sanskrit waned, and Prabhupada gradually gave up the daily classes to spend time working on his own translation of the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
His new friends may have regarded these lessons as Sanskrit classes, but actually they were bhakti classes. He had not come to America as the ambassador of Sanskrit; his Guru Maharaj had ordered him to teach Krishna consciousness. But since he had found in Carl and some of his friends a desire to investigate Sanskrit, he encouraged it. As a youth, Lord Caitanya had also started a Sanskrit school with the real purpose of teaching love of Krishna. He would teach in such a way that every word meant Krishna, and once His students objected, He closed the school. Similarly, when Prabhupada found his students’ interest in Sanskrit was transitory, and since he himself had no mission on behalf of Sanskrit linguistics, he gave it up.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=7

Harinama in Happy Japanese Island Okinawa, Japan (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity, the Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. This is the reality of all Vedanta. The chanting of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.” (Narada-pancharatra)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/35uhi6

What Kind of listener am I?
The topmost listener is one who comes before the speaker with proper respect and is eager and expert in hearing of Krishna’s teachings and pastimes. He has rejected all mundane topics, has faith in the Supreme Lord, hears submissively, always contemplates the knowledge he has heard and likes to ask relevant questions. He is dear to Lord’s devotees.
There are listeners who are known as superiors.
Cataka bird : A cataka bird does not take water from any source other than the rain cloud. It eagerly waits for the swati constellation, because it only drinks the raindrops that fall during that constellation. It will rather die than drink any other types of water. One who does not hear any book other than the scriptures concerned with Krishna is called a cataka listener.
Swan : Just as the swan can extract milk from a mixture of milk and water, one who can extract the essential teachings while listening to various topics is called a swan listener.
Parrot : Just as a parrot can recite whatever it has been taught, one who is able to properly repeat the topics he has heard from his teacher and others is called a parrot listener.
Fish: Just as a fish that is situated in an ocean of condensed milk quietly drinks milk without even blinking its eyes, one who quietly listens with full focus and relishes what he hears is called a fish listener.
Some listeners are classified as inferior:
Wolf :Just as the cry of wolf frightens the deer attracted by the sweet sound of the flute in the forest, the foolish listener whose questions and comments are a source of frustration and pain to the other listeners is called a wolf listener.
Bhurunda bird: Just as the bhurunda bird that lives in the Himalayas tells everyone whatever it has heard without doing anything himself, one who repeats what he has heard to others but does not practice it himself is called a bhurunda listener.
Bull: Just a bull does not distinguish between eating sweet grapes or pungent oilcakes, the person who listens to everything without intelligence and discrimination is called a bull listener.
Camel : Just as the camel rejects the mango leaves to chew bitter neem leaves, one who listens to Krishna’s teachings and then eagerly listens to mundane topics is called a camel listener.
– Srila Vyasadeva, Srimad Bhagavat Mahatamya, Skanda Purana, verses 10.41.35-37

First Girls’ Mela at Sri Mayapur International School.
Mayuri Pillai: Saturday the 6th of February hosted the first Girls’ Mela at SMIS. A nice group of girls over the age of fourteen gathered at the main campus to partake in the planned weekend’s events. HG Devaki Mataji, a senior disciple of HH Niranjana Swami gave an inspiring two day seminar on “Fascinating Womanhood”, presenting the transformation from materialistic views on womanhood to spiritual views, and thus motivating our enthusiasm.
The seminar concluded with a lunch feast in the open air. At 6:30 pm, after sunset we met back at school after the Hatti Procession. We sat around the bonfire, cooking dinner to the company of an upbeat kirtan, followed by a game of “Capturing the Flag in Pitch Black”. It was fast approaching midnight when we finally managed to get to sleep, exhausted from “Truth & Dare” and stuffed with the night prasadam of soup, buttered buns and fire roasted potatoes.
The next morning we performed darshan arati to Gaura Nitai and had a quick breakfast prior to the second day of the seminar. We performed humorous little skits summarizing the topics of previous day’s discussions before mataji began to speak.
The two-day course delivered a deep insight into various prospects, from a woman’s position in vedic culture to being able to advance in Krishna Consciousness as a youth. The whole group felt enlightened and benefited at the end and inspired to keep trying to make further progress.
The first Girl’s Mela was a great success and we are already planning for the next one! Please come and join the next Girls’ Mela….!

Kadamba Kanana Swami: When I first went to India, Lord Ramachandra was the first deity I ever saw because the first temple I went to was of Lord Ramachandra and that was my temple! It was a small round temple and later on, they renovated and made it …

Lessons from Hanuman, Lord Rama’s Greatest Servant.
This Friday, 15 Apr 2016, devotees around the world will put extra focus on the essence of Gaudiya Vaishnavism—loving service to God—as we celebrate the appearance day of Lord Ramachandra, God’s form as the ideal leader. And who better to follow as the perfect example of selfless, devoted service than Lord Rama’s greatest devotee, the monkey warrior Hanuman?
We cannot, of course, imitate Hanuman’s actions. This is someone, who, as a newborn baby, tried to eat the sun because he thought it was a delicious-looking fruit, and would have succeeded had not Indra the lord of the demigods stopped him by striking him unconscious with his deadly thunderbolt weapon. He was then personally revived and granted untold powers by the creator Brahma, in an effort to pacify his father Vayu, the God of wind, who in a fury had taken away the ability to breathe from every living entity in the universe.
We can, however, follow Hanuman’s example of using his talents and capacities to the fullest in the Lord’s service.
Doing Our Very Best
Hanuman’s talent was strength, and a quick study of his life reveals endless examples of his using it to the fullest. When Rama’s wife Sita devi was kidnapped by the demon king Ravana, Hanuman jumped, with playful disregard, across thousands of miles of fathomless ocean to warn Ravana to release her.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/uzYJL7