Author Archives: Dandavats.com

UK devotees reach almost half the number of books set as the goal for this December marathon of book distribution. The goal is to distribute 100.000 books, which is is the double they distributed during last year’s marathon! Of course, it would be a miracle if it happens, it is a very high expectation, but the devotees are investing all their energies and forces hoping for the Lord’s reciprocation.

Lips and Laughter.
Many religions describe God as powerful, angry, even jealous. The Vedic literature describes God as Kṛṣṇa, called Viṣṇu in his majestic feature. Certainly Kṛṣṇa has emotions beyond or…

Harinama sankirtana under the snow, Moscow, Russia (Album with photos)
When loud chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is perform…

Chant Hare Krishna for peace! (4 min video)
Public in London sharing their feelings about Hare Krishna!
Key quotes from this video:
‘If people will be connected to the life like the Hare Krishna devotees are, the world would be a better place’
‘To invest in peace and reflect peace is a very powerful thing’
‘The only life on Oxford street today is… the Hare Krishnas’
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Vsw0A1

Gift ideas for your Sadhu friends 🙂

ISKCON Auckland NZ: We have just finished our eleventh Rathayatra! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada explains the potency …

December 12. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Prabhupada is the perfect theist. He doesn’t belong to the twentieth century or the twenty-first century; he is a timeless devotee-sage. The atheists are timeless too. They have been with us in one form or another since the beginning of time. They are prominent in Kali-yuga, blaspheming religion and preaching gutlessness. What passes for religion in this age is a sorry spectacle. Prabhupada is the educated theist of Vedic culture, the modern parivrajakacarya-paramahamsa who speaks like a layman in language which is inescapably blunt and clear. And he calls them rascals for not accepting the obvious hints, conclusions and analogies, and the direct statements of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the scripture.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Iskcon temple attacked in Bangladesh, 2 injured.
Unidentified gunmen on Thursday night hurled a crude bomb inside International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) temple in Kaharol’s Bahuchi village and opened fire at its entrance, reports said.
But locals caught one of the attackers – Safayet Hossain – in possession of a crude bomb. And later the police arrested Safayet.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/T7iu0K

Preaching program at King’s College London Dental Institute, London.
King’s College London Dental Institute, often found at the top of the national leaderboards for Dentistry, regularly invites speakers to inspire their students. On November 30th, 2015 they hosted Radhanath Swami alongside Ash Parmar, a world-famous cosmetic dentist (who has appeared on shows such as This Morning and Extreme Makeover), to give a seminar on the art of decision-making.
Due to his experiences, elaborated on in his autobiography, The Journey Home, Radhanath Swami was requested to speak about ethics, morality and compassion in relation to medically treating people. From the outset, Professor Woolford was impressed: “It was fascinating to hear the silence when the Swami was talking. The fact that people were genuinely listening; I wish I had that much silence in my lectures when I give them on crown and bridge work!” he laughed. Radhanath Swami told the students “cleaning our teeth is natural, but we also have to clean our heart.” He added that “If we don’t examine the deeper principles in life, we will develop the plaque of bad habits.”
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/grrYk1

New Ramana Reti, Iskcon Alachua: the real example of the United Nations!
Mukhya Devi Dasi: In 1974 Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to an Indian disciple who had complained to him that he felt American devotees were looking down on him. Srila Prabhupada said “Why be affected by bodily relationships? Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised us…that we have to become humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree. Then we can execute our service and chant Hare Krsna. If Indians are bad, then I am also bad, as I am an Indian. But they have accepted an Indian as their guru. So Indians are both good and bad according to the behavior…Don’t be afflicted by all these external features of our bodily relationship. Be steady in Krsna consciousness and do your duty, and you may be blessed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krsna and make your life successful. We are neither Indian nor Americans; our real identity is that we are servants of Krsna.”
New Raman Reti is perhaps the most homogeneous blend of different nationalities in one temple in our movement. It’s part of the vibrancy of this community. The skills and talents and experiences combining together in service to Krsna that we find here creates a spiritual energy unique to our temple. It’s a cause for celebration, and sometimes it’s a challenge. When two people whose first language is not English communicate with each other in English, nuance can be lost and sometimes there is a mistaken perception of what’s being said. We all need to be extra sensitive to each other here, take a bit more time to communicate carefully and calmly; try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a minute before assuming they are wrong. We take time to cleanse our hearts in the shower of the holy names every day; we want to be cautious about throwing dirt right back over us by hanging out in the bodily identities of nationality, gender, intellect, profession, etc. We can be the real example of the United Nations, all operating under the Bhakti flag, if we keep everyone’s desire to serve Krsna and guru front and center.

Harinam in Los Angeles, California (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If the surface of the globe is overflooded with the ch…

December 11. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
We have often heard the phrase “love of Godhead.” How far this love of Godhead can actually be developed can be learned from the Vaisnava philosophy. Theoretical knowledge of love of God can be found in many places and in many scriptures, but what that love of Godhead actually is and how it is developed can be found in Vaisnava literature. It is the unique and highest development of love of God that is given by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. – (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Introduction) By following Prabhupada, I have learned that love of God is not attained cheaply. One may claim, “I love God,” but it is not so easy. Prabhupada said that the beginning symptom is obedience to God’s laws. Even if we follow the laws, though, we may be attached to material desires. We have to qualify before we can experience love of God.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Bhakti Vrksa in Sydney (Album with photos)
Ramai Swami: There are many Sydney devotees in Bhakti Vrksa groups who meet regularl…

BHAKTI MELA EVENT – DECEMBER 28, 2015.
This holiday season, ISKCON Brampton invites you to a spiritual gathering that promises to invoke euphoric vibrations of your soul through Drama, Music and Dance.
Please join us for an intimate holiday event, consisting of a spellbinding theatrical production by His Holiness Bhaktimarga Swami, enchanting kirtan with internationally renowned kirtaneers Gauravani and Ananta Govinda prabhus & mesmerizing bharatanatyam by Komala Kumari; A wonderful way to spend the holidays. No need to leave your children behind…separate children’s activities to keep the younger attendees entertained too. A full vegetarian dinner and beverages will also be served.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/Fbo9Du

Hare Krishna singing acapela version 🙂 (1 min video)
Chanting is the medicine, and prasadam is the diet.
(Srimad-Bhagava…

Harinama & Gurukula Bhajans at Byron Bay – 09 December 2015 (Album with photos)
ISKCON New Govardhana – Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari
Srila Prabhupada: “Aryan” refers to those who are civilized, whose manners are regulated according to the Vedic rituals. Any devotee who is chanting the holy name of the Lord is the best kind of Aryan. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.33.7 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/gRs1dC

New 50th Magazine Will Serve as Introduction to ISKCON.
A commemorative one-off magazine entitled “The Hare Krishnas: Celebrating 50 Years” is set to be released in early 2016 for distribution at celebrations and events throughout ISKCON’s 50th anniversary year. The attractive 64-page publication, packed with beautiful full-color photos, will be printed on quality matt paper with a firm cover. It is aimed at everyday men and women from all walks of life – academics, students, next-door neighbors, teachers, members of other religions, the media, young and old. “It’s intended to help the general public quickly grasp what ISKCON is, who founded this movement and what is its history, what members believe and what the movement does,” says project manager and ISKCON Australia communications director Bhakta Das.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/Zb507u

“FORGET to REMEMBER” the movie. (36 min video)
Award-Winning Russian Short Asks the Big Questions.
Forget to Remember, the new transformational short film from young Russian director Shaktyavesha Avatar Das, is now available online with English subtitles. The 36-minute Russian language short won second place at the viewer-voted Moscow film festival “I See God,” which is dedicated to work that explores different understandings of God. The film tells the story of Danny, a young Russian man who is pursuing a career in music, despite pressure from his father to continue the family business. But when he is attacked after a performance in Moscow, he loses his memory, not even able to remember his own name. Getting help from Hare Krishna devotees when he stumbles across a Food For Life truck serving out free food, he begins to realize that his tragedy could be a blessing in disguise as he gets to ask deep questions like “Who am I?” and “Where do I come from?” with a blank slate.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/ss49JU

December 10. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Prabhupada teaches us not to be wishy-washy, but to give everything to God, he exposes all types of maya, including religion which is not completely surrendered to God. Anyone who wants to love God can learn from Srila Prabhupada. This love is not a saccharine piety. It is doing the needful, even if it means fighting for Krishna as Hanuman and Arjuna did. The lover of God pleases Him under all circumstances. Prabhupada was an intrepid preacher, ready to face the atheists and mayavadis who deny God. This is another aspect of the lover. We may think of a “lover” as someone who seeks a soft situation, lying in an inner chamber to enjoy with his beloved. The lover of God, however, works on His behalf and fights on His behalf to establish the principles of religion. He goes out on behalf of the Lord, just as Ramacandra’s brothers went out to conquer, and just as Prabhupada left Vrindavana to come to America.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Bravo, Brave Brahmacharini!
Krishnarupa devi dasi (ACBSP): Resident brahmacharini Jyestha dasi has been recovering from serious brain surgery and is now back in the ashrama. Her brain had been growing too large for her skull, forcing itself down outside the skull cavity and into her spinal cord. The subsequent pressure on her spinal cord caused a massive cyst-like lump called a ‘syrinx’. Operating on the syrinx itself was extremely dangerous, and, as Jyestha describes, “In itself it was a secondary problem”.
Surgeons at the Gold Coast University Hospital removed part of her skull in a procedure called ‘decompression surgery for Budd Chiari malformation’ and filed the thickness right back to make more room for her brain and to lift it off her spinal cord and back into her skull. With her usual humour, she told me, “That hurt. A lot!”
The 10 days post-surgery were extremely painful for her, and the doctors were concerned about the degree of pain and dizziness. However, two kind devotees Radha and Lochanananda visited the hospital to share Damodarastakam prayers with her. The next morning, Jyestha says she woke up “feeling 90 per cent better and could walk without too much pain”.
Let’s all offer prayers in thanks to Radha Govardhanadhari for Jyestha’s safe return to the community. Welcome back, Jyestha!

Australian Youth Bus Tour.
We are pleased to announce the first ever ISKCON Youth Bus Tour Australia in 2016! Ever wanted to check out the amazing places that are tucked away along the east coastline of Australia? This is your chance! From 10–26 January 2016 we are planning two weeks of adventure packed days and kirtana filled nights! Sand tobogganing, surfing, bonfires, waterfall swimming, festival feast cook ups, city sightseeing, maha harinamas and festivals all along the way are only some of the adventures we have in mind.
The year 2016 marks ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary and what better way to celebrate than a travelling bus of inspired youth, the future of the next 50 years of ISKCON.
At the moment, we are looking for expressions of interest, exploring how many of you are keen to spend an awesome two weeks of the summer together. Please visit the Facebook page or website and drop us a comment.
Facebook: Bus Tour Australia
https://www.facebook.com/bustouraustralia
Website: http://bustouraustralia.com/

By His Grace Alone! (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Towards the end of Kartika our parikrama party journeyed in wooden …

Raman Reti Apartments Vrindavan.
An exclusive Iskcon UK development for UK devotees, members and patrons. Conveniently located very close to the Krishna Balaram Temple inside the parikram path next to BB Govinda Swami and Indradyumna Swami. Only 2 Units left!
Apartments are designed with many “green” features to help preserve the Vrindavan environment and are as Vastu compliant where practical within the constraints of the building site.

A visit to ISKCON New Govardhana – Sri Sri Radha Govardhanadhari (Album with photos)
Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues ar…

December 9. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Anyone who studies Prabhupada’s books becomes educated in the most important subject. Whenever a follower of Prabhupada hears a discussion of God-consciousness, he spots contradictions or a “poor fund of knowledge” wherever it occurs. Even a young brahmacari can note the flaws in the presentations of learned theologians or clergymen. Theologians are puzzled as to “why bad things happen to good people.” Some of them theorize that God may be all good, but He is not all powerful. Some say that God cannot have a form, or that God exists only in human relationships – but one who knows Srila Prabhupada’s teachings can see this is a poor fund of knowledge. One of the benefits of a good education in any field is that one easily handles opposition from prejudiced or ignorant persons. Sometimes Prabhupada would be challenged, “What is your faith?” Prabhupada usually replied, “It is not faith, it is fact.” He also said, “You may believe or not believe, that is a different thing.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Baker Extraordinaire: Amber Borsotti!
Mandakini devi dasi: Sydney-born Amber Borsotti was two years old when she was first introduced to the Hare Krishna Vedic lifestyle. Three years later she was enrolled in New Govardhana gurukula where she remained for the next six years before relocating to New Nandagram, Victoria.
Amber returned to Murwillumbah when she was 15, settling into householder life by the time she was 16. A busy and dedicated mum, she has five children ranging in ages from four to 17.
With the family growing up, Amber and her husband, Leonardo, considered some working options. They finally agreed to venture into the bread-making business. Amber had entertained four passions in life: architecture, psychology, fabrics and food. Having produced quality bread on the farm in earlier years, friends and family members had often urged her to “go into food”.
Months of hard work followed as the couple researched equipment and painstakingly developed their own special recipes. The result is an impressive home bakery and an outstanding product called ‘Levadura’, which consists of organic, artisan sourdough (a much healthier and tastier alternative to commercial bread).
When a retail opportunity opened up at Uki Farmers Market at the end of September, Amber and Leonardo took the initiative, and on their first outing ended up selling their entire stock.
Production has since increased from 50 to 90 items twice a week, and still there is a demand for more.
The bread is naturally leavened, requiring Amber and Leo to “rise” at 1.00 am on Wednesday and Saturday mornings to prepare their batch.
Variety being the spice of life, alongside the basic loaves there is much to choose from. For example, savoury loaves like Olive, Rosemary and Pecorino; Dark Euro-style Rye with Caraway and Fennel; and Vegan Fruitful Loaf and Sweet Spiced Rye and Fig, to name a few. Melt-in-themouth croissants and chocolate scrolls, as sampled by the author, must be tasted to be believed.

Academic Excellence.
Syama Sakhi devi dasi: The Bhaktivedanta Swami Secondary School at New Govardhana, Iskcon Australia, is intent on creating an environment of academic excellence, Krishna conscious goals and understanding, and meaningful character development. To these ends, this year the gurukula has invited various guest speakers to the school and taken students to different events outside of school. This allows students to broaden their understanding of this world and their role in it.
One such event students attended was the GRIP leadership conference for secondary schools. GRIP is an independent organisation that exists to train and develop leaders with a special focus on school students and the educational sector. Hence, our school captains, Anjali, Gaur, Bimala, Balaram, Lakshman, Suniti and Kalindi received the opportunity to attend the GRIP leadership conference that took place on the 26 October at the Tweed Civic Centre.
The aim of the one-day conference was to inspire secondary school students to take up effective leadership roles in their schools. Through topics like, ‘How to improve your public speaking skills’ to ‘How to make your events more dynamic’, the conference offered our students a chance to broaden their leadership skills. It also enabled them to meet many other teenage students from across Australia.
The whole event was excellent. The students experienced their first professional conference and made valuable contributions throughout.
We are hopeful that through such training offered by the gurukula, the students will be able to develop excellent leadership skills valuable to their life inside and outside of school.

Vijaya Dasa (Book Distribution Minister @ Iskcon) Prabhupada December Marathon (10 min video)
There is no doubt about it, to distribute books is our most important activity. The temple is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to fight with maya. Fight with maya means to drop thousand and millions of books into the lap of the conditioned souls. Just like during war time the Bombs are raining from the sky like anything. (Letter to: Ramesvara — Bhaktivedanta Manor 3 August, 1973)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/j631AF

TOVP construction activities increase as new space becomes functional (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: We have been working on…

December 8. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Harvey Cohen came to room 501 to visit the Swami who had impressed him at Ananda Ashram.
Harvey: The room he occupied was a tiny office in the back of the Yoga Society in uptown Manhattan. I began to go there regularly, and we sat facing each other on the floor in this little office with his typewriter and a new tape recorder on top of two suitcases. And there was a box of books he had brought from India and a color reproduction of dancing figures which he looked at often. I told Swami Bhaktivedanta that I was an artist, and he asked me to please paint the picture of the dancers, which he explained was of Lord Caitanya and His disciples. The painting was called “Sankirtana.” Whenever I came to visit him, Swami would always be happy to see me. I told him about myself, and we chanted Hare Krishna together in his room many nights that winter. I would get the train uptown from my apartment to go see him.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

New Govardhana Sunday School (Australia). Kisori devi dasi Recently I interviewed Indranila devi dasi about the Sunday School she runs at New Govardhana.
Kisori (K): What’s your inspiration for running the Sunday School?
Indranila (IN): I thought the children were a bit unsupervised and not positively engaged on Sundays. I also feel very inspired by Aruddha devi dasi’s book, which advises how to teach our children Krishna consciousness.
K: Please explain how it all works.
IN: We have three different age groups – under four years old; four to six year olds; and six to 10 year olds. The first two groups run for an hour each, while under four year olds have activities that include kirtana, Krishna conscious nursery rhymes, cognitive development such as matching, sorting, numeracy and literacy with Krishna conscious props, stories, drawing, playdough and coloring-in. The four to six year olds have kirtana, story time with questions, role play pastimes and craft to enhance the learning and comprehension. Finally, the six to 10 year olds learn songs, and read then discuss for 90 minutes. The teacher plays ‘devil’s advocate’ during these discussions. After that there is either games or craft to further solidify understanding in a practical way. K: What is attendance like?
IN: Attendance ranges from eight to 15 children. I ask for $1 fee per child per session to cover costs.
K: What is the feedback that you have received so far?
IN: Parents appreciate the Sunday School, but are often too busy or exhausted to bring children every Sunday.
K: What have you got planned for the future?
IN: The general plan is to inspire children to participate with the Vaisnava community and feel connected. The core focus is to plant the bhakti seed and help them flourish by giving quality guidance and education so we can have children who are strong and confident in themselves as devotees and compassionate enough to want to share Krishna consciousness with the rest of the world. I would appreciate more parents coming forward to help. Then we could include programs for older children and teenagers.

From Car Parks and Temple rooms… to the streets…! (Album with photos)
Sutapa das, London book distribution report: This weekend the “Car Park and temple room team sanga” went out on door-to-door for the first time. With the help of HH Dayananda Swami they split up into about 10 teams and blitzed the local area with transcendental wisdom! In an hour they distributed 115 books!
Thanks to all – it was a great evening, great stories, great vibe… Sitting here I’m thinking of how over 100 people are now more closely connected to the mercy of Mahaprabhu!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/j9ph8c

Initiation of new disciples by Kadamba Kanana Swami (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Illicit sex is strictly prohibited. O…

Iskcon starts prasadam distribution in Chennai (Album with photos)
Today ISKCON Chennai with the help of ISKCON Rajamundry dist…

Vedic Planetarium construction update (Album with photos)
Beautiful photos indicating the great progress achieved so far.
…

Hare Krishna program in Tel Aviv 04/12/2015 (Album with photos)
Transcendental mellows 🙂 Chanting, dancing, and awarding with diplomas the devotees who graduated “ISKCON disciple” course.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/wVDzLx

Mukunda Goswami, now recuperating from his recent health problems, receives a surprise visit of Niranjana and Devamrita Swamis (Albu…

Nityam Bhagavata-sevaya#26 Govardhana Lila – Part 2.
Dear Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga! By the blessings of Vaishanavas and Sadhus, NBS magazine is completing its one year. We are grateful to our readers, our well wishers and most importantly our team. In this second issue of Govardhana Lila, the pastimes that took place underneath the Govardhana Hill is covered. Additionally, a fresh translation of Sri Govardhanashraya-Dasaka – Ten appeals for Shelter at Govardhana Hill, of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami has arrived. We pray this issue brings some pleasure to the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. NBS # 26 Features: 1) Indra’s Fury Towards The Residents Of Gokula Srila Sukadeva Goswami 2) Why Did Krishna Use Govardhana To Protect Vrajvasis? Sripad Vallabhacharya 3) Krishna Lifting Govardhana Hill His Divine Grace A .C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 4) The Pastimes Underneath Govardhana Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura 5) Sri Govardhanashraya-Dasaka Ten Appeals for Shelter at Govardhana Hill Srila Raghunatha Das Goswami This issue can be viewed through these links: ISSUU: http://issuu.com/nbsmag/docs/nbs_26 Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/doc/292420557/NBS-26

December 7. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
The weather grew cold, but there was no snow in December. On Columbus Avenue shops were selling Christmas trees, and the continental restaurants were bright with holiday lighting. On Seventy-second the Retailers’ Association erected tall red poles topped with green tinsel Christmas trees. The tops of the trees on both sides of the street sprouted tinsel garlands that spanned the street and joined in red tinsel stars surrounded by colored lights. Although Srila Prabhupada did no Christmas shopping, he visited many bookstores – Orientalia, Sam Weiser’s, Doubleday, the Paragon, and others – trying to sell his Srimad-Bhagavatams. Mrs. Ferber, the wife of the Paragon Book Gallery proprietor, considered Prabhupada “a pleasant and extremely polite small gentleman.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Harinama in Hollywood, Venice Beach and more (Album with photos)
A wonderful week in L.A. Eight Harinama’s in six days, did service with Ratna Bhusana prabhu and crew cooking the Thanksgiving Feast. Enlivening morning programs, Darshan of Srila Prabhupada in his rooms, Harinama’s at Venice Beach, Hollywood Blvd, Macarthur Park (Little Mexico) and 4th Street Mall- Santa Monica. Big thanks to Mukunda Dhatta prabhu for engaging the Harinama Ruci World SKP Party along with Mahavishnu Swami. Svavasa and Naikatma prabhus rate a 10 as Temple managers.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/pMnXVf