Author Archives: Dandavats.com

December 19. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Even if Srila Prabhupada and Vyasadeva and other acaryas do sometimes teach us in preliminary ways, as one deals with less intelligent people, the learner will not be harmed if he follows their exact instructions. If there is more esoteric information that is beyond him, and which he does not know because his teachers do not teach him – still he will not be harmed if he trusts them. They know the best way to bring him through all the obstacles, back home, back to Godhead. The literal presentation of Krishna consciousness in the Scriptures that Prabhupada insists on is not itself simplistic or dogmatic. Prabhupada states that Krishna certainly walked the Earth in His divine form and He is also present now in His holy name. He is fully present in stone or brass deities, but these truths are themselves very esoteric and can only be fully understood by the pure devotee. As stated in the scriptures, atah sri-krsna-namadi … “One cannot understand Krishna with blunt senses. When his senses are purified through service, then one can understand Him.” Prabhupada taught esoteric knowledge, but he has kindly given it to us in such a way that even beginners can accept Krishna literally – but they should know that the full Krishna will be revealed to us only when we are purified.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Interviewing devotees about the relevance of the Vedic Planetarium Temple in Mayapur. (brief videos)
Srila Prabhupada: Now here in India we are constructing a very large Vedic Planetarium…within the planetarium we will construct a huge, detailed model of the universe as described in the text of the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Within the planetarium, the model will be studied by onlookers from different levels by use of escalators. Detailed information will be given on open verandahs at the different levels by means of dioramas, charts, films etc.

Mahabharata Controversies – Karna’s Tragic Choice (video)
A tragic figure of the Mahabharata had to decide between Krsna’s pleasure and his own prestige.
By HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Hbr1NL

Cows of Braj (Album with photos)
Vishnu Purana: My Lord, you are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and the of the entire world.
Purport: In this prayer we see that special mention is made of the cows, indicating that special protection must always be given to the cows who are very dear to the Supreme Lord. The Lord is very fond of cows and we are encouraged to give reverence and love to the cow. For the cowherd men and the cows, Krsna is the supreme friend. Therefore, He is worshiped by the prayer “ namo brahmanya-devaya go brahmana –hitaya ca”. His pastimes in Gokula, are always favorable to the brahmanas and the cows, His first business is to give all protection to the cows and the brahmanas. In fact, comfort for the brahmanas are secondary, and comfort for the cows are His first concern ( Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.16 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/NNXNWI

TOVP: Choosing the best decorations for the Temple of Vedic Planetarium. (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Prabhu has recently visit…

ISKCON Auckland New Zealand: Harinama in the streets of the city (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If one uses the vibration of the holy name for the benefit of the material body, for material wealth and followers, or under the influence of greed or atheism – in other words, if one utters the holy name with offenses – such chanting will not produce the desired result very soon. Therefore one should diligently avoid offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 3.60)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/0HrXkU

Harinama in Moscow Russia, the Reading Project.
You’ve certainly met dancing and singing Hare Krishna devotees in the streets of your cities and you have a question: who are they and what are different from others? How dangerous are they to me? Or maybe I should not worry? Our magazine provides answers not only on these issues, but also talks about the fact that we are all united, like opening for everyone new horizons in a modern, it seemed to have the length and breadth investigated the world. If you are just getting started with our movement, the magazine Harinam – your best friend and guide. Do not wait for happiness! Take it at once! Try harinama taste this minute! Do not wait until the ripe! You deserve to be happy without delay.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/2h6yM5

December 18. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
A doubtful person inquired and got answers from Swamiji. Gradually, he began to accept whatever Prabhupada said. He wanted us to accept everything, a “package deal”: the demigods in the higher planets, four-armed forms, thousand-headed forms, and so on. Everything started to be part of the same axiomatic truth – whatever was in the Vedas, whatever was taught by the spiritual master. One did not get to pick and choose. Besides, there was a reason why everything was believable. If it was not “believable” to you, that is also understandable. You did not have to comprehend it with your own brain – it was often beyond you. Once you accepted these premises, then you accepted particular teachings that sounded strange to outsiders on the principle of acintya, inconceivable knowledge. And as one came to learn, knowledge born of these senses was defective. The realities of other worlds didn’t have to tally with our world. The guru knew what was right.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Merciful Vrinda Devi (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: A few special shots of our parikrama to Vrinda Kunda this Kartika….

Srila Prabhupada: “Whatever you have on your plate when you start, you have to finish that prasadam.”
Daivishakti: In 1974, maybe in August, after Janmastami, Prabhupada was again recovering from his sickness. And we used to cook for Prabh…

Food For Life Nepal Picnic Program – A Thousand Smiles (Album with photos)
Food For Life Nepal organized picnic program for a thousand children @ ISKCON Nepal temple, Budhanilkantha. A perfect place for a family gathering & to get a spiritual experience…
Our thanks & gratitude to ISKCON Nepal for their help & support.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/pDRHgt

The new generation of preachers are here!
Sri Mayapur International School: Our Grade 4 students went for Book Distribution ins…

December 17. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Prabhupada had a lot of ammunition. He had good reasoning power and good arguments. He had personal saintliness and a mystical connection with the Supreme. He had the ancient and great Vaisnava tradition behind him. He was from India and spoke of many acaryas who also accepted Krishna consciousness. He said that what he was preaching was the same thing that Christ and Buddha taught. So, if one went against him, he went against all the Vishnu incarnations, all the God-teachers and sages of renunciation and lovers of the Supreme. He frankly said that the truth is beyond our senses; we should accept it and be humble. Prabhupada said that what he was teaching would bring freedom from anxiety. This was wanted. Swamiji himself appeared to be free of anxiety and he was “fixed.” He said that anyone could do it just by chanting Hare Krishna.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

Harinama around Sigatoka Temple, Fiji (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: No one in this life can chant the holy name of the…

Harinama at Coolangatta (Coolangatta is the southernmost suburb of City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia) – 13 December 2015 (A…

Parikrama – 13 December 2015 (Album with photos)
Yoga Pitha, Srivas Angan and Murari Gupta’s House
Find them here: https://goo.gl/aBDHRm

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…