Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Harinama at Broadbeach – 21 February 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When the chanting is performed offenselessly t…

An Ambiance of Antiquity (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Radha Kunda is one of the places that has retained an ambiance of antiquity despite all the development and construction around Vrindavan.To convey that special mood I used different filters on my camera lens to capture the mood of “old Vrindavan” at Radha Kunda.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/dxLqok

February 24. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: A Pure Devotee Preacher.
The pure devotee is not restricted to the limitations of sadhana-bhakti, but follows those practices which nourish pure devotion. Pure devotion means Krishna consciousness, which specifically means service to Radha-Krishna.
Prabhupada conducted his life in that way. His only concern was for things that fostered the preaching and spreading of Krishna consciousness and the cultivation of essential spiritual life. The more we study texts about the most advanced Krishna consciousness as it exists between the Lord and His eternal associates, the more we see that Prabhupada was in that league.
He introduced Westerners to Radha-Krishna from the very beginning, but he also demonstrated gravity and privacy in his emotions. He taught that even if one is above the rules and regulations, he should still follow most of them to set an example. Prabhupada was sober. He didn’t give vent to many ecstatic expressions. Lord Caitanya was also careful about revealing His internal emotions when He was near superficial, ritualistic brahmanas while he was speaking with Ramananda Raya. Similarly, Prabhupada was always in the presence of doubters and atheists while preaching in the West, and thus his demeanor was sober and reserved.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Simply Bluffing in the Name of Science!
The following conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples took place in October 1975 during an early-morning walk in Durban, South Africa.
Srila Prabhupada: Man came from the ape. So why is man not coming from the ape now?
Disciple: It only happened once, and that was enough to start the whole thing.
Srila Prabhupada: Only once? Another rascaldom! We see the flowers and fruits are coming every season. Why once? This is dogmatic. Do we have to accept it? Our experience is that, by nature’s way, the same flower is coming again in the same field.
Disciple: Well, actually Darwin said that there is a missing link.
Srila Prabhupada: What is that missing link? Simply bluffing, and it is going on in the name of science. Just see the fun. Simply misleading, and people are such rascals civilized man, so-called they are accepting it as a great theory: “Darwin’s theory is a very big discovery.”
Simply childish rascaldom. There is no reasoning. There is no sense. Man came from the monkey, they say. So why is he not coming now?
Disciple: Well, sometimes there’s a freak of nature.
Srila Prabhupada: “Sometimes” it is simply for Darwin. To support his rascaldom, nature has to serve him: “sometimes.” Just see. Why should we believe all this? “Sometimes” is not nature’s law. Nature’s law is the same, symmetrical. Nature is not obliged to serve Mr. Darwin. “Sometimes,” he said, and only he knew. The rest of us are simply supposed to believe him. “Sometimes” it was done, and it was revealed to Darwin. How did he come to know? How is it that no one but Darwin could understand?
Disciple: They use the same argument against us: that so few people can understand God.
Srila Prabhupada: No. We don’t say that. We say that God first spoke to the sun-god, and the sun-god spoke to his son, Manu, and Manu spoke to Iksvaku, who spoke to his son, and in this way, the knowledge came down. Evam parampara-praptam. That is quite reasonable. We don’t say, “God spoke to me.”
God spoke to Brahma, and Brahma spoke to Narada. Narada spoke to Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva spoke to others. If my forefather said to my grandfather, and my grandfather said to my father, and the same information is passed down through my family, then what is wrong? Evam parampara-praptam. Krishna spoke to Arjuna, and what Arjuna understood, we are understanding in the same way. How Arjuna understood it, is written in the Bhagavad-gita.
We don’t accept knowledge like that: “Darwin simply knew it.” No. They are number-one rascals, all these so-called scientists. “There is a missing link. Only once from a monkey, man came.” What is this nonsense? Do we have to believe this? Does it make any sense? But because Mr. Darwin is speaking we are expected to accept it.
Disciple: Certain changes take place. Just like if you’re in a hot climate all the time, your blood thins. If you take that further, all of these changes can mount up to some big physical change.
Srila Prabhupada: No change is taking place. Nature is working symmetrically, always. The sun is rising in the morning. That has been going on for millions, millions, millions, millions of years.
Disciple: Gradually the change is taking place.
Srila Prabhupada: No. What change is taking place? In the morning the sun rises on the eastern side. That is going on. The seasonal flower changes according to the season winter, spring, summer. Everything is going on symmetrically. Because it is going on symmetrically, we can say that next February it will be a nice season here. Why? Because you have your own experience of last February. We are certain that the same thing will happen next February. Therefore we can say, “There is no such change.” This is nature’s way: prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah. It is very symmetrical. Everything is going on nicely. Nature’s way.
Disciple: One of the strong points of Darwin’s theory …
Srila Prabhupada: I don’t find any. Simply foolishness. [Laughter.] A foolish rascal like you will believe it.
Disciple: They argue that five thousand years ago they had no history. So they think that before that time, there was no civilization. Therefore man was like the monkey.
Srila Prabhupada: We don’t speculate. We have got millions of years of history. A child may think something, but an elderly man will not think like that. Because the rascals are thinking in some way, do we have to believe it? Why should I take their word?
We are taking the word of Lord Krishna. We accept Him as Supreme. All the great sages accept Him. Why should I accept this rascal Darwin? We are not so foolish. We cannot accept.
Disciple: The scientists always say, “Last year we made a mistake, and now it’s all right.”
Srila Prabhupada: Hmm. “Now we are advanced.” And what is the guarantee that your present theories are correct? You will advance again. That means you are always incorrect.
You say that by chance man came from nature. But you don’t find nature working by chance. Therefore your theory is disproved. If your calculations have even one error, then your whole statement must be accepted as nonsense.
Disciple: People think that life is always getting better.

ISKCON Pakistan: Printing Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is in Sindhi Language!
Srila Prabhupada: I don’t say, “Follow me.” I say “Follow Krishna.” Krishna says, “Surrender unto Me.” I say “Surrender unto Krishna.” Is there any difference? My position is simply repeating because Krishna says, “Anyone who preaches this confidential subject matter, he is dear to Me.” Allahabad, January 18, 1971

Bonds of Love “Loving Krishna will help you love your son”
From the time she was 4, Urmila (Dr. Edith Best) was looking for God. If somebody said, “What do you want to do?” she’d say, “I want to be spiritually perfect. I want to find God.” They’d say, “Don’t you want to get married, have kids, have a career?” She’d say, “I just want to find God.”
Urmila Devi Dasi: My first contact with Prabhupada was in ’67 when I was 12 years old. I would regularly listen to him chanting on the Happening album playing in Alan Kallman’s shop on the Lower East Side. I’d ask, “What is this record? Who is this?” My next contact was through the Radha Krishna Temple Album, which I heard on the radio. Prabhupada’s picture was on the album and my initial response to it was skeptical. I thought someone who takes the role of guru might think he’s better than others.
When I was 17, I got Prabhupada’s translation of Bhagavad-gita. After reading it, I decided to move into the temple, but at first I didn’t want to get initiated. Soon after I moved in I got married; my husband was already second initiated, and in his association I started thinking, “How am I going to be able to find God and become spiritually perfect without a spiritual master?” Gradually my relationship with Prabhupada developed and I became his initiated disciple, after he accepted me through the mail.
When I first met Prabhupada in Chicago in the summer of ’74, a little more than a year after I’d moved in. I was expecting a mystical experience. Prabhupada was sitting on the vyasasana giving class and I was fanning him. I was standing very close, to his left, moving the peacock fan, absorbed in every word and gesture. My experience was, indeed, mystical, but not in the way I expected. I felt, “Prabhupada has always been here, because playing a recording of Prabhupada lecturing and listening to him lecture in person is exactly the same.” I was hearing him directly but I felt the same as when I was listening to a recording. It was satisfying and amazing – I realized that I could associate with Prabhupada even in his physical absence with potency equal to his presence. Still, I felt incomplete in the experience.
Later that morning, my father, husband, and I met Srila Prabhupada in his room and I got to know him as a person – he was funny, laughing, casual, jovial, and exchanging affectionately with my father. I understood he cared about me, as an individual, and I felt a loving relationship with him. At that point there was full satisfaction.
My father asked why we give people prasada, and Prabhupada said, “Just like if you eat the food of a sick person, you will get their disease. If you eat Krishna’s food, you will get Krishna’s disease.”
My father thought he was only supposed to come to the temple if he was a devotee, so he asked, “Can I come to the temple just to see my daughter and son-in-law?”
Smiling, Prabhupada said, “They are loving Krishna. Chanting and dancing are symptoms of loving Krishna. You are loving them and they are loving Krishna, so two things equal to the same thing are equal to each other.”
Prabhupada’s mood was light, but I thought, “Prabhupada said I love Krishna, so it’s just a matter of time. Someday I’ll love Krishna.” That meeting changed my life. And it moved my father. He said, “Prabhupada’s a genuine holy man.” He enjoyed Prabhupada’s company and became somewhat of a devotee.
Less than a year later, my baby son Madhava and I were with a group of devotees seeing Srila Prabhupada off at a New York airport. Prabhupada was sitting on a couch in the VIP lounge talking with Satyabhama, Kirtanananda, Jayadvaita, and a few others. I was a couple of feet away, holding Madhava. I felt left out of those devotees’ intimate connection with Prabhupada. I thought, “They really know Prabhupada well,” but it was also a relaxed time for me, getting to be with Prabhupada in a personal way again. During the kirtana, Prabhupada transported everyone to the spiritual world; I forgot that I had a body and that I was in New York. Prabhupada was meditating on chanting and I thought, “Prabhupada is chanting for his guru just as we are chanting for him.” It was incredible. Then at some point in the kirtana my external awareness flooded back: I was again in New York holding a baby.
For a year and a half after Madhava was born, I dove into Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures. I read 4–6 hours a day, and listened 3–4 hours a day. Doing that deepened my relationship with him as much or more than when I personally saw him. During that period, in the summer of ’75, I went to Philadelphia for Ratha-yatra and to get Gayatri mantra. At class that morning, the devotee reading from the Bhagavatam manuscript said, “[Ajamila] called the name of his son very loudly three times, ‘Narayana, Narayana, Narayana!’ “
Prabhupada responded, “Who said in the manuscript? There is no three times. Not “Narayana” three times. One time, ‘O Narayana,’ that’s all. So did I say ‘three time’? Hmm? No, it is not said here. You should correct it. Once, ‘He, O Narayana,’ that’s all. There is no reason for calling three times. There is no mention here. Once is sufficient. [laughter] Hmm.”
(lecture Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.28–29, July 13, 1975, Philadelphia)
It was life-transforming for me to hear him say that calling out Krishna’s name just once in helplessness is enough.
Later that morning my father, husband, and I met with Prabhupada again. When he saw us Prabhupada’s whole face lit up as if we were his favorite people in the world. Like he was meeting a dear old friend he said to my father, “How are you now?” My father responded with similar exuberance and joy. As we were leaving Prabhupada said, “Good father, good daughter.” Prabhupada saw something good and worthwhile in me; he was pleased with me.
When I got Gayatri mantra my husband was carrying Madhava, and Prabhupada’s attention went to the baby. Prabhupada said, “He’s laughing. He’s very intelligent and fortunate.”
Prabhupada had me repeat the mantra, and I thought, “I don’t want to say it perfectly because Prabhupada will think I’m puffed up.” To try to be humble I purposely made a mistake when I repeated the last line. Prabhupada looked disgusted. I thought, “Oops, that wasn’t the right thing to do.” I said, “Prabhupada, I want to preach and please you, but I have this little baby. It’s hard to go out on book distribution.”
He said, “You must take care (of the child) so you may not go out.” The feeling I got from Prabhupada was, “This is really a stupid question.”
The next time I saw Prabhupada was in the summer of ’76 when he came to New York for the Ratha-yatra. Again my father met with him. At one point Prabhupada pointed to me, with my eighteen-month-old son on my lap. He said, “Just like this mother is loving her son without any expectation of return, in that way you should love Krishna.”
My father said, “Will loving her son help her love Krishna?”
Prabhupada said, “No, but loving Krishna will help her love her son.” I understood that if we have Krishna as the center and are attached to Him, then we can love everyone else. If we love people on a mundane level, it doesn’t help us love Krishna – it takes away from that love.
Somehow what Prabhupada said when I was with him was just what I needed to hear. His words changed me in deep and lasting ways.

Sriman Mahaprabhu Dhyana.
From Srila Dhyanacandra Gosvami’s “Sri Gaura-govindarcana-smarana-paddhati”
—
In his manasa-deha, the sadhaka will follow his guru, parama-guru, paratparaguru and paramesthi-guru to the temple of Sriman Mahaprabhu. By their order, he will awaken the Lord and offer Him scented water for washing His lotus face, etc., and do other seva as is appropriate. Then he will meditate upon the Lord as described in the Urddhvamnaya-samhita:
—
Absorbed in prema, the golden Lord Gaura stands holding one hand in the benediction pose and the other in the pose for awarding fearlessness, while He incessantly chants the holy names.
—
(20) Sri Gauracandra Pranama
I offer my humble obeisance again and again to that great soul who is known as Visvambhara (maintainer of the universe), Gaura, Caitanya, Saci-putra, the Husband of Laksmi and the Friend of All.
—
(73) Sri Gauranga’s Asta-kala-seva
The nectarous pastimes of Sri Navadvipa-candra are very wonderful. Eager to serve the Lord, the sadhaka shall always think of these pastimes.
(74) At the end of night (nisanta), he shall meditate on the Lord sleeping in His own home. In the early morning (pratah-kale), the Lord rises from His bed, bathes and takes His meal.
(75) In the forenoon, the Lord becomes deeply absorbed in krisna-lila-smarana and experiences intense feelings of separation. In the middle of the day, Mahaprabhu performs astonishing pastimes on the bank of the Ganga. The sadhaka shall meditate on Lord Gauranga in this way.
(76) In the afternoon, Gaurahari very joyfully roams about Sri Navadvipa-dhama. In the early evening, He returns to His own home, revealing His enchanting beauty.
(77) In the late evening, He meets His dear associates at the home of Srivasa Thakura, where they perform a great sankirtana festival far into the night. The sadhaka shall thus blissfully meditate on Sri Gauracandra.

New Android App “Krsna – The Sweet Lord” Launches.
An app for Android smartphones, entitled “Krsna – The Sweet Lord,” is now available on the Google Play Store for free and promises to place the best of what ISKCON has to offer in the palm of your hand.
The app, developed by ISKCON Juhu of Mumbai, received a soft launch for an internal devotee audience on December 14th, when it was unveiled by Radhanath Swami at Mumbai’s Chowpatty temple.
Bollywood actress and Mathura MP Hema Malini then launched it for the general public on February 7th, during the Mumbai ISKCON 50 celebrations, with the aid of a life-size smartphone imprinted with the app’s name.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/9TiUqs

Krishna is the real husband.
Ruchika Srivastava: I have written this poem based on Srimad Bhagavatam slokas 5.18.19-21, where Laxmi Devi says that Krishna is the real husband of all living entities.
“Seeking a husband for protection,
Of children, wealth and life’s duration.
Seekers of such a benediction.
Dwell in the kingdom of illusion.
Says LaxmiDevi with compassion
And guides us to this illumination.
—
Dependent on karmic reactions
Based on past fruitive actions
Who himself needs supreme protection
That is material husband’s position.
—
Krishna respects your decision
If worshipped with pure devotion
But outcome of material requisition
Is broken heart and lamentation
—
Supreme shelter and protection,
Deliverance from sinful reactions,
Krishna’s promise knows no violation,
One must have that firm conviction.
Trying to claim His position
Is false prestige and self-deception.
—
Serve Him without motivations,
Guru’s guidance and regulations
With dormant love’s manifestation
He guarantees His care and protection.
—
Living entities are all females
Krishna is the only male
We are not this body at all,
Soul is our identity real.
—
Who has nothing to demand, stay always at His command
Whose majesty is grand, and Whose glories outstand
Braj Gopis always understand, Krishna is the REAL husband…”

February 23. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada Was Not Obliged.
The Krsna Book describes the spiritual master as a waterfall, which sometimes flows in the rainy season and sometimes is still. When I asked Prabhupada what this meant, he said that the spiritual master is not obliged to speak. When he feels inspired, he will speak to his disciple in a relevant way. He will not give the disciple information he is not ready to receive. But he never handles his disciple roughly. He is interested in the disciple’s welfare, and therefore, he’s willing to teach Krishna consciousness according to the disciple’s needs.
Prabhupada was like this. He was not obliged. The fact that he did not speak so much Vrindavana krishna-katha was his mercy, his expertise. At the same time, he gave everything, including knowledge of krishna-lila, caitanya-lila, and the foundational wisdom of the Lord’s talks with Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Harinam and book distribution in Tel Aviv (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Philosophy is the highest, but even higher tha…

Harinama in Bali (Album with photos)
Bali – the Indonesian tropical island is another place on this planet where Krishna Consci…

Book distributors in action (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If one renders even a small amount of sincere devotional service, Krishna becomes obliged to elevate such person; and what to speak of one whose entire life and soul has been dedicated to Krishna’s service. Letter to Harer Nama, November 6, 1969.
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Srivas Pandit’s mysterious clap.
Purushottam Nitai Das: Once Lord Chaitanya asked Srivas Pandit, “I do not see you going anywhere to earn livelihood. You have a big family so how you maintain them.” Srivas Pandit replied, “In my heart I do not have any desire to go anywhere. Whatever is destined will come to me anyway.” And then Srivas clapped three times. One. Two. Three.
“What does it mean?” the Lord enquired.
“If three times food does not come to me, I will fast, and then I will tie a waterpot to my neck and drown myself in the Ganges.”
Hearing this extreme vow Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was astonished. The Lord said, “Why should you fast Srivas? Even if Goddess Lakshmi becomes poverty stricken still poverty will not enter your house.”
Srivas Pandit’s vow was not based on some sort of sentiment. He along with his family members used to remain absorbed in chanting the holy names of the Lord entire day and night. Being a pure devotee of the Lord he was well aware that the Supreme Lord is the maintainer of all the living beings of the universe.
And moreover Srivas Pandit’s house although was in this material world but it was in fact a part of the spiritual world because Lord Chaitanya, the Supreme Lord, personally used to come to his house and in his house the holy names of the Lord continuously reverberated. And we know that in the kingdom of the Lord no one has to work hard for their maintenance. In the spiritual abode everyone just serves the Lord and experiences complete satisfaction while doing so.
In B.G. 9.22, Krishna says, ‘To those who always worship me with exclusive devotion, meditating on my transcendental form, to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.’ Lord has promised that he personally takes care of his unalloyed devotees.
Hairidas Thakura was not allowed inside the Jagannath temple but Lord Chaitanya who is none other than Lord Jaganath would personally bring different varieties of delicious mahaprasadam of Jagannath temple for Haridas Thakura and he used to make sure that Haridas Thakura ate it.
Mrugrari, the cruel hunter, got enlightened by the mercy and teachings of Narada Muni. But he was bit worried, he asked Narada Muni, “If I give up hunting then how will I maintain myself and my family.” And the great sage replied, “You don’t worry. Once you take shelter of the Lord then you will not be deprived of any necessities of life.” Mrugrari gave up his sinful profession, became a devotee, and the Lord made sure that his needs are well taken care.
When Durvasa Muni told to the Pandavas that he along with his thousands of followers will come to have food at their house then the Pandavas were in great anxiety. They were living in the forest and had nothing with them to feed their guests at that time. Draupadi had Akshay patra, a divine pot, which could supply unlimited food but once Draupadi finished her food then the supply of food used to stop for that time period. And all of them including Draupadi had finished their meal. It was a great crisis; Draupadi remembered Lord Krishna and he immediately appeared. In that divine pot just a grain of rice was left and the Lord ate it. And as soon as Krishna ate it everyone’s hunger got satiated including that of Durvasa Muni and his thousands of followers.
When Krishna is satisfied everyone is satisfied. As soon as we bring Krishna in our life then we do not remain deprived of anything. In this material world all the necessities which is a must for our survival has been arranged by the Lord: the water which we drink, the air which we breathe, the food which we eat have not been invented by mortal beings but has been given to us by the Supreme Lord.
Extremely pleased by the devotion of Srivas Pandit, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “To anyone who always meditates on me with exclusive devotion, I carry alms for them on my head. Anyone who meditates on me need never leave his door. All perfections will come to him automatically. Piety, wealth, happiness, and liberation will come to him. My servant need not ask for them. They will never leave my servant. My Sudarsana-chakra will always protect My servant. Even when all the universes are destroyed, he will not perish. Whoever remembers my devotee, I will feed and protect. The servant of my servant is very dear to me. Without even trying, he easily attains me. Why should he worry about food? I personally feed my servant. Srivas, you happily stay where you are. I will bring everything to your door.” (Srila Vrindavan Das Thakura’s Chaitanya Bhagavata Antya 5.38-64)

February 22. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada’s Versatility.
Prabhupada was sometimes as strong as a thunderbolt, other times soft as a rose. When, sometimes, persons would ask Prabhupada esoteric details about Vrindavana or the rasa dance, he would cut them short. Rather than answer their questions directly, he would address their mentalities. Yet, at the same time, he would fully answer the questions of a sincere inquirer.
We should be proud to have such a guru, who adopted the chopping technique of his own spiritual master in trying to save the world from maya, but was fully capable of understanding Vrindavana bhajana-rasa. After all, he lived in Vrindavana for years, wrote his books there, and lived alone at the Radha Damodara Temple. He was very, very sensitive to the atmosphere in Vrindavana. Even his silence on the subject of rasa-lila made us feel his potency, his power. Krishna’s pastimes took place in Vraja, although, at present, They are aprakata, not manifest now, Prabhupada knew about Krishna’s pastimes.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Sri Svapna-vilasamrtastaka.
Eight Prayers Describing Nectar Pastimes in a Dream
(by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
—-
Srimati Radharani said: Beloved, in a dream I saw a river shore like the Yamuna here. There were many expert dancers as in Vrndavana. There were mrdangas and other instruments. There was a brahmana jewel as splendid as lightning who was tossing the universe into an ocean of pure love.
—-
Sometimes He calls out: “O Krsna!” and sometimes He sighs: “O Radha, where are You?” Sometimes He falls to the ground, sometimes He acts wildly, losing all composure, and sometimes He dances ecstatically with His loving associates. He has made all the residents of this world, from the blades of grass up to Lord Brahma, loudly call out the name of Krsna.
—-
As I gazed at Him, My intelligence became bewildered. If He is my lover, where am I? If He is I, where is My lover? If He is My lover, where am I? As I slept, I became more and more bewildered.
—-
Sri Krsna said: O inquisitive girl, when I showed You Narayana and My other forms You were not surprised. Why does this brahmana surprise You? Why does He bewilder You so You say “Who is He?”
—-
After speaking these words to His beloved, the smiling lover, Krsna, touched His Kaustubha jewel. The jewel, understanding the Lord’s intent, glowed and then showed all the same pastimes and all the moving and non moving entities She saw in her dream.
—-
Srimati Radharani reflected for a moment and said: Beloved, I know what is in Your heart now that makes You smile. You are He. What You have said and thought is now clear to Me, and therefore I think I am also He.
—-
Making this Kaustubha jewel, which is so delightful to Us, shine in this way, You have revealed Yourself to all living entities. By Your own transcendental potency You will appear, display Your pastimes, teach everyone, and again plunge the world into the ocean of pure love.
—-
In the king of Vraja’s presence, the learned Vedic scholar Gargacarya said that You will appear with a yellow complexion. He did not lie. This dream of Mine is true. It is not an illusion. In this dream I have directly seen You.
—-
If the bumble-bee of the reader’s mind drinks the nectar of this Svapna-vilasamrta, then that intelligent reader will quickly awaken from the dream of materialistic doubt. Such a reader will attain Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He will sport in the ocean of pure love. He will attain the peerless mercy of the king of Vrndavana.

Parikrama in Vrindavana (Album with HR photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the material world, everything is full of anxiety (kuntha)…

Srila Prabhupada Tirthas in Kolkata. An Aerial Tour. (4 min video)
The place where Srila Prabhupada was born, the school he att…

Festival for Lord Nityananda in Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sri Sankaracarya says: na hi na hi raksati dukrn karane. “Simply by juggling grammatical suffixes and prefixes one cannot save himself from the clutches of death.” The grammatical word jugglers cannot bewilder a devotee who engages in chanting the Hare Krishna naha-mantra. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 7.73 Purport)
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Nityananda trayodasi celebration at ISKCON Salem (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s transcendental mission is to distribute love of Godhead to everyone. Anyone who accepts God as the Supreme can take to the process of chanting Hare Krishna and become a lover of God. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 4.41 Purport)
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Shilanayaas Puja @ ISKCON Jalandhar.
The Devotees of ISKCON Jalandhar celebrated Sri Nityananda Trayodashi in a very special way. On The special morning the devotees had organized the Shilanyaas puja and Yajna for Lord Jagannath’s upcoming Installation Ceremony.
The Yajna was performed by HG Balbhadra Das, and was overseen by Temple President Ramanuja Acharya Das and approx 150 of the Temple devotees.
Special Guests included Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Sh. Vijay Sampla (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet Minister) and Ashwani Gupta (Former Independent Director of State Bank Of Patiala).
Devotees chanted mantras during the Yajna and afterwards placed the sacred pot in the ground where Lord Jagannath will be Sitting)

February 21. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Please Bless Us for Advancement.
One should pray to Prabhupada, “Please bless us for advancement,” with confidence that everything we desire in spiritual life can be achieved by his mercy. His mercy comes in many forms. It comes in his books. He gave us his books, but we have to enter them. If we pray for understanding when we read, Krishna will give us the intelligence.
Prabhupada can also help us through the heart. The pure devotees are just as good as Krishna. They can expand in different places at the same time. They are inconceivable in their power. They are not limited by material circumstances. Prabhupada’s mercy can act in many ways. The sastras tell us of gurus who come back to help their disciples.
We want to reciprocate with Prabhupada by fulfilling his intentions for us. He intends that we become pure devotees of Krishna. Therefore, we can take siksa from someone who is also in line with Prabhupada, someone who can help us to better understand Prabhupada’s teachings.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

13 Anniversary of Vrinda Kunda (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: On Varaha Dvadasi, it was 13 years since we inaugurated t…

ISKCON-Delhi: Sri Nityananda Trayodasi Maha Abhishek : 20-02-2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: By chanting the holy n…

A pilgrim in Vrindavana (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Home Again! I have come back Home, to Vrindavan, after a 3-mon…

Two lusciously illustrated books for devotees.
The Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) in Radhadesh, Belgium, has just published two lusciously illustrated books for devotees to feast their eyes on: “Illuminations from the Bhagavad-gita” and “Prabhupada Meditations.”
An exhibit featuring all the original paintings will start on May 28th at the MOSA Gallery in Radhadesh. The opening will be attended by the Ambassador of India, authors Kim Waters and Chris Murray, members of the Hindu community, and the ISKCON congregation. It will include a cultural program with music, dance, and a prasadam meal.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/opbjN6

Washington D.C., ISKCON’s 50th Celebrations.
With ISKCON’s 50th anniversary year now here, ISKCON devotees all over the world are getting inspired to bring their communities together and celebrate in creative ways.
At the temple in Potomac, a suburb of Washington D.C., for example, community members are holding their first 50-hour kirtan.
“Actually, it’s more like 60 hours,” says organizer Manu Bhattacharjee. “We started on February 12th, and until the 20th we’re holding kirtans from 4:30pm to 8:30pm every weekday, and from 10:00am to 8:30 on the weekend.”
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/VLlZSx

The Inseparables.
Purushottam Nitai Das: As fragrance from flower and sweetness from sugar is inseparable so is Nitai inseparable from Nimai. They enjoy each other’s company, appear on earth together and together they perform many pastimes to attract the heart of those who left the beauty of the spiritual world and got caught in this not so happy place.
Nitai is none other than Lord Balaram and he enjoys serving Krishna anywhere and everywhere. As Ananta-Shesha he is the bed of Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha, as Ananga manjari he assists Srimati Radharani in her amorous pastimes with Krishna, as Lakshmana he is ready to do anything and everything for Lord Rama and in Kaliyuga he accompanies Lord Chaitanya to introduce sankirtan movement to distribute mercy of Krishna to all the living entities without caring and bothering about the recipients’ qualification.
We cannot get the mercy of Radha and Krishna without getting the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, and we cannot get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya without getting the mercy of Lord Nityananda.
Rupa Goswami (the abhidheya acharya), Sanatana Goswami (the sambandha acharya), Raghunath Das Goswami (the prayojana acharya) who played a very vital role in spearheading bhakti movement got the mercy of Lord Chaitanya through Lord Nityananda.
Chaitanya Bhagavata and Chaitanya-charitamrta, the two most authoritative and authentic biographies of Lord Chaitanya were written by the inspiration of Lord Nityananda. Nityananda Prabhu ordered his disciple Vrindavana Dasa Thakura to write Sri Caitanya Bhagavata and he appeared in the dream of Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami inspiring him to author Chaitanya-charitamrta.
Upon the instruction of Lord Chaitanya, Nityananda Prabhu and Haridas Thakura were approaching each person beseeching them to chant the names of Krishna. While distributing the sublime love of Krishna freely they encountered Jagai and Madhai, the two wicked personalities. They were so sinful that pious residents upon seeing them used to bathe in Ganges to get purified from contamination.
But Nityananda Prabhu decided to deliver them too but in return Madhai assaulted him with an earthen pot. Lord Chaitanya upon getting this news became so angry that he called his sudarsan chakra to kill Madhai but Nityananda prabhu begged the Lord to forgive the offender. In this age of Kaliyuga the Lord was not supposed to kill the sinner but was to kill their sin using the weapon of the holy name. Seeing the magnanimity of Nityananda Prabhu, Jagai and Madhai surrendered to them giving up all ungodly behaviour and decided to chant the name of Krishna and serve all the Vaisnavas.
Lord Chaitanya is always present at these 4 places:
At mother Sachi’s house
At the kirtan of Srivas Pandit
At the house of Raghav Pandit
At the place where Lord Nityananda is dancing while performing kirtan.
And Lord Nityananda is always present where Lord Chaitanya is glorified. So the best way to please Nityananda Prabhu is by distributing Lord Chaitanya’s message profusely.
Nitai and Nimai freely distributed one way ticket to the spiritual world to everyone. We too can get that ticket if we take shelter of Nityananda prabhu’s lotus feet. He is so magnanimous that he will surely take us back to the kingdom of Krishna if we are sincere and carry desire to serve the Lord.

February 20. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Remembering Prabhupada Favorably.
When I read Conversations With Srila Prabhupada, I find that although one can come close to Prabhupada by reading them, they give a very stripped-down picture of him. We don’t see how he looks as he speaks, how he moves, what his non-verbal language is. We see only his words printed in black and white. We could get the wrong idea about Prabhupada by seeing only the words. But it is also true that as we read one conversation after another, Prabhupada’s presence seems to accumulate in our minds and we begin to see all the non-spoken gestures, too.
It takes faith to hear from Prabhupada. Don’t think that Prabhupada’s presence can be gained without faith. Don’t think it is wrong to be faithful, or to be favorable toward Prabhupada. Don’t think feeling these things is in competition with anything else in your life. You want your love to be revived. There is no logical calculation involved, no prerequisite emotional objectivity. You simply have to satisfy your own sense of service and inquiry at his lotus feet. You have to satisfy your own sense of truthfulness by engaging your intelligence and your heart in understanding what he is saying to you. Krishnadasa Kaviraja tells us to use our intelligence dynamically to study the qualities and character of Lord Caitanya. Don’t argue with yourself (or with your spiritual master). And don’t find fault.
This is remembrance of Prabhupada in a favorable mood. There is work to be done – we have to throw aside everything unfavorable in our remembrance. Therefore, we have to understand the science of Krishna consciousness, the nature of the work to be done. If we don’t know the difference between weeds and flowers, how can we expect our garden to produce fruit? If we don’t know the difference between non-favorable meditation and favorable meditation, how can we expect our spiritual life to increase?
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Vapu or Vani?
Question: We often hear in lectures that Vani is more important than Vapu. Vani means instructions of the spiritual master. Vapu means physical presence of the spiritual master. My next question is we happen see the some devotees get very very good association of the spiritual master or some devotees he also inhibition and try away from talking or revealing their mind to the spiritual master and just contented to hear lectures or have darshan who is right and lucky? How should the second set of devotees be? How should they rectify themselves?
Radhanath Swami: Srila Prabhupada was in his second meeting with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. It was during the Varaja Mandal Parikrama. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was in Koshi and it was advertised that he would be giving a lecture and there was also a Parikrama going to holy place called Seshsayee. So most of the devotees went to Seshsayee but Srila Prabhupada was thinking that what will I learn at Seshsayee? All the holy places are at the lotus feet of my Gurudev. So he sat and so many people were asking questions and Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati was lecturing on so many various topics of devotional service and Srila Prabhupada silently sat and listened attentively and submissively. He didn’t say anything. People were coming and people were going he was speaking from many many hours but Srila Prabhupada just sat and with an open heart and open ears just absorb what his Gurudev was saying. He said nothing to his guru, he just listened. Next day Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati left and Srila Prabhupada also left. Sometime after that at the Gaudia Matha in Allahabad, Srila Prabhupada had a business in Allahabad at that time. He was in the Grihastha Ashrama. He visited the Gaudiya Matha and one brahmachari I believe his name was Atulananda. He said that Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati is coming to give initiation and he recommended Srila Prabhupada’s name for initiation. That time his name was Abhaycharan. And he only sat in the presence of his guru twice. When Bhakti Siddhanta saw him he said yes I have noted that this young man he likes to hear. He does not go away. Just by sitting and listening attentively is inquiring submissively. If you have a question you ask it. If you have no question just by sitting in a room with hundred and two hundred and three hundred people if you are sitting and hearing attentively you are getting the most intimate association with your spiritual master. And who is the lucky one the person who is listening attentively because he is really getting the association with that spiritual master’s divine grace. In Srila Prabhupada’s life when he first came to America you know that Robert Nelson is actually a nice boy he was living with Prabhupada day and night. And so many other they were living with him day and night for months and months and months. But many of them never became devotees. They were asking so many questions, they were sitting next to him. They were very friendly with him. But they never became devotees and I know people who never spoke one single word to Srila Prabhupada in their whole life but in the few occasions they simply sat in a lecture with six- seven hundred people and they listened attentively and they dedicated their life to what they heard and they are the most intimate lucky devotees in all over the world. So we should know that “Krishna Consciousness is not quantitative it is qualitative”. As Nityaditya Maharaj said many of Prabhupada’s God brothers who are Sanyasis and brahmachari’s they were with Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati personally individually for years and years and years together almost constantly. Srila Prabhupada met with him only a few times rarely asked any questions but whatever Srila Prabhupada Bhakti Siddhanta spoke he heard attentively with the receptive heart and with the willingness to surrender what he heard. “If you listen attentively and you have the willingness to surrender to those instructions you are lucky.” And that’s what Srila Prabhupada appreciated most often times if devotees were doing very well he would not come to that place he said you are doing so well I don’t have to burden my time going there to try to inspire you, you are already doing so well. So we should understand that our receptivity is what will bring us the divine grace of our Guru and to our life.

Character or Capability?
Sutapa das: Scriptures are often replete with long lists of names, exalted personalities who most have never heard of, but who are nevertheless immortalised in the pages of history. In the material world people are remembered for what they do – their ground-breaking achievements, their high ranking positions of responsibility, and their impactful influence on others. In spiritual circles, however, people are remembered for who they are. In some cases these outstanding spiritualists also made a visible mark on the world, but in many cases they were quiet, simple, humble souls who went about their daily life with a deep sense of devotion, sensitivity and saintliness, their consciousness merged in transcendence. Unassuming, and often unnoticed. The value system in spiritual circles, you see, is entirely different. Character over capability.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/c0mEBr

HH Kadamba Kanana Swami’s health update.
Dear Vaisnavas, friends and all,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Time is like a river, it is moving along and with it, there are so many occurrences. Presently where I am, the currents are going wild and all I can do is to go along with them and keep my balance. Only days ago I was diagnosed with cancer in the rectum, the tumor has already been removed by operation. Now a second operation is due to remove the surrounding tissue. It may or may not end there, that will come out after some more time. So far it has not been found that the cancer has spread to other places in the body, let’s hope it will remain so.
Lord Krsna is the Supreme Controller and we are little controllers, in this situation there is not much for me to control, I can not steer my boat on the now wild river of time, I have to just go along with things and see what will come on the way. So far there is a realistic chance of survival, but let’s see how things will evolve. You kindly pray for me. Either in this world or the next I am in Krsna’s hands. I will let you know more as things develop.
The doctors are advising me not to have many visitors, because there will be some radiation and chemo involved, which breaks down the immune system, we can’t afford to catch something on top of this.So I will write an update from time to time.
My heart goes out to so many wonderful people that I have met everywhere, and if Krsna so desires I hope that we can meet again and spend many inspiring moments together.
Your servant
Kadamba Kanana Swami

Meditation Through Sound.
Meditation is an ancient process which helps us connect to our true nature and purify the mind. There are two ways to meditate; either through silent meditation or sound meditation. The struggle with silent meditation is that it might work for some time, but eventually the noisy mind will come back and begin chatting again. The mind’s duty is meant to always think, so you can not stop it’s function. Better to engage the mind in higher consciousness, which can be done through the power of sound mantras.
To read the entire article click here: http://tattvadarsi.com/2016/01/31/meditation-through-sound/

6 Tips for Bhakti-vriksha (3 min video)
Bhakti-vriksha is a congregational development program that utilizes small group struct…

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 12, No. 1.
Krishna-kripa das: I share many insights from Srila Prabhupada’s books and lectures. I include a beautiful poem about the holy name by Bhaktivinoda Thakura called Sri Nama Mahatmya. I share an excerpt about the public chanting of the holy name from the daily journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I include notes on interesting lectures by Amala Bhakti Swami. There are notes on a recorded lecture by Radhanath Swami. Many nice realizations from Madhava Prabhu from New Raman Reti, speaking in Gainesville and Deva Madhava Prabhu, who runs a Krishna House near Ann Arbor, speaking at the Harinam Ashram in New York City. I also include realizations from newer devotees in Gainesville and Jacksonville.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/iSG7EA

February 19. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Meditating on Prabhupada’s Eternal Form.
Usually I favor meditating on Prabhupada as we knew him. As an expression of loyalty, I almost scoff at the possibility of Prabhupada having a form other than how he appeared in the West in 1965. But I know he does. Still, we prefer to think of Prabhupada as we knew him, and anyway, we really can’t know Prabhupada in any other form. At least not now.
Lately, I am coming to understand that it is possible for a disciple to know his eternal relationship with his spiritual master in the spiritual world. It is possible to meditate on that eternal relationship. This no longer seems scandalous to my loyalty if I think like that.
Now I want to pray that the other form is revealed. I cannot imagine it or concoct it, but I hope one day Srila Prabhupada will reveal how I can be with him as he assists Radha-Krishna in the spiritual world. Just as we sing every morning, nikunja-yuno rati-keli-siddhyai. Shri-radhika-madhavayor apara-madhurya-lila-guna-rupa-nammam / prati-kshanasvadana-lolupasya / vande guroh shri-charanaravindam. These two verses are meaningful. I pray that I may one day realize them.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=5

Harinam Party in St.Kilda Beach, Melbourne, Australia (Album with photos)
The nectar names of Lord Krishna are always new and fresh. Whoever chants them becomes free of the embarrassment of material life. He becomes happy. He becomes liberated even while living in this world.” (Narada Purana)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/f0ADgg

GUNDAIPALEM Concludes the Fourth Phase of Yatra.
Among the few villages located at the confluence of a river and ocean is Gundaipalem. The village is constantly resounded by ocean roars and influenced by eight types of breezes from different directions. Beautiful Gundlakamma river flowing from west to east is resplendent due to sun rays from east in the morning and from west in the evening. These are some of the distinct features of this remote village. Though fishing is their main profession, agriculture was also practiced a decade or so ago. Agriculture has mostly been replaced with aqua culture due to which the lands have become saline and unfit for agriculture. The ground water is also polluted due to this. In spite of the degraded soil there are a few farmers determinedly engaged in agriculture from many years. Since last eight years, with the efforts of IDVM volunteers, the number of cows and bulls has increased in the village and also the practice of traditional agriculture has been introduced. There is an old temple of Lord Shiva and another for Lord Sri Rama. Remarkably, the deities of Sita Rama Lakshmana as a single stone block were found in a fishing net some fifty years ago. IDVM has also helped set up a small mud and straw Krishna temple eight years ago along with a Bhaktivedanta library. Surprisingly the temple survived two major floods in this area. There are ten devotee-families who have stopped their fishing profession and have sought alternative occupations. Under the auspices of HH Bhakti Raghava swami, who visits this village at least once almost every year, IDVM started the first Shikshalaya center, an educational program for children as a pre-runner for gurukula in this village. Three students qualified from shikshalaya program and are now getting trained in a gurukula in Chirala. This program is continuing under the supervision of HG Vraj Vrindavan prabhu, an active local devotee. Six Varnashrama camps were also conducted wherein people from city got an experience of an ideal village life. This village is also known for SiddaVaidya–a traditional treatment system coming from Dravidian culture. Legend says that Siddha is one of the oldest medical systems having deep knowledge of all types of diseases. Sixty years ago there was a Sidda maestro by name of Butchaiah, who was known in the whole district for his ability to diagnose diseases simply by seeing into the patient’s eyes.Due to lack of purity and interest in the younger generations this system has totally been wiped out, except for two very old persons practicing this system for one or two skin related ailments. Local devotees welcomed the preaching team with kirtan and subsequently they were served Idly and dosa prasadam as breakfast. Later local villagers arranged a boat ride in the river which went up to the confluence of the river and ocean then further into the ocean. Devotees from Hyderabad comprising of Ramsharan prabhu, Sripati Prabhu,Toshan Krishna prabhu and Haridas prabhu had their first experience of the continuous tides in the ocean. The boat was stationed and everyone swam in the ocean experiencing floating in the void, free of gravity. After returning from the ocean a full course meal with eight to ten traditional preparations was served. The evening program started with a procession consisting of spirited villagers. The nagarsankirtan went through all the main streets of the village. The program was arranged in a big open ground besides the newly built Sri Rama temple. People eagerly assembled at the venue and heard with rapt attention to the lectures of Sripati prabhu, Haridas prabhu and Ramsharan prabhu. Power point presentations and videos were also displayed. A reverential gopuja and pradakshina was conducted with more than one hundred people participating in it. The program followed with the pledge for protecting mother cow, arati and profuse distribution of prasadam. Villagers, who were otherwise not serious about ISKCON activities, also showed up in the program and gave a positive feedback.

New documentary short “Hare Krishna: 50 Years of Service and Joy”
Some incredible facts about ISKCON’s achievements over the years. For instance, there are 650 temples in over 100 countries; nine million worshippers visit ISKCON centers every year; and over the past 50 years, ISKCON devotees have distributed over 500 million of Prabhupada’s books.
For viewers from the general public, “50 Years of Service and Joy” is likely to provide a picture of ISKCON’s valuable contribution to society at large, and an understanding of why it’s relevant to them. And for devotees, it will provide a sense that they’re not alone but part of a huge, diverse family; and that the service they’re doing is deeply valuable.
ISKCON temples and institutions can get a HD download link for the film by writing to Krishna-lila at editor@iskcon.org, and providing information on their intended screening date, venue, and audience.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/CbdXRd

Meeting a Lover of the Lord (6 min video)
Agnideva Prabhu recalling the first time he met Srila Prabhupada in New York.
Wa…