Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Harinama Sankirtana in Union Square Park Tuesday, August 21st…
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Harinama Sankirtana in Union Square Park Tuesday, August 21st (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “My heart is always burning in the fire of material existence, and I have made no provisions for getting out of it. The only remedy is Hari-nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka-Vrndavana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.22 Purport)
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Jhulan Yatra in Iskcon Kiev, Ukraine (Album of photos) Srila…
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Jhulan Yatra in Iskcon Kiev, Ukraine (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: A devotee always thinks of the Lord continuously. While chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the words Krishna and Hare immediately remind him of all the Lord’s activities. Since his entire life is engaged n the service of the Lord, a devotee cannot forget the Lord at any time. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.6 Purport)
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Sixty book distributors in a mission to Brighton, UK (Album of…
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Sixty book distributors in a mission to Brighton, UK (Album of photos)
On Saturday we made an exciting trip to the seaside town of Brighton! Fifty five of us boarded a coach, which left Bhaktivedanta Manor at 10.30am. Five more devotees came in their car.
What was really exciting and special about this trip was that we were all planning to set upon Brighton, armed with Srila Prabhupada’s books; the time bombs!
Eager to get there, we spent time singing bhajans, chanting and hearing realisations from our two special VIPs – HG Sutapa das and HG Visvambhara das. Both are very experienced book distributors and had many insightful and entertaining stories to share with us.
Soon after lunch, each and everyone of us armed ourselves with books and set off in all directions to find ripe souls and change lives forever while the harinaam team kept the energy high with melodious tunes of the maha mantra.
Many people from all walks of life were happy to stop and chat with us to find out more about what we were doing. They enthusiastically took books and wished us well. Many stood and smilingly gazed at the harinaam team, probably thinking that this trip to the beach was definitely unique!
After sometime, the sankirtan party and the book distributors moved on towards Brighton pier. This was a perfect opportunity to meet more people along the way and spread the mercy. Many onlookers danced to the kirtan.
As with all the MSFs, the children were encouraged to distribute books and many of them managed to do so successfully. They had a really fun time distributing books, playing on the beach and enjoying the coach ride. 245 books were distributed in less than 3 hours!
On the way back, we shared realisations and experiences. We all agreed what a fun day it had been, albeit short, and the highlight was that we had all been an instrument in helping many souls begin their journey towards Krishna. No doubt more trips like this will be planned in the future, so watch this space and it’ll be great to have you on board next time!

In praise of our dearest God-brother! Bhakti Charu Swami: At a…
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In praise of our dearest God-brother!
Bhakti Charu Swami: At a time like this we can’t help but recognize the extremely exalted spiritual position of our very dear godbrother, His Holiness Jayapataka Maharaja.
When the whole world was in total anxiety about the outcome of the very critical operation to transplant his liver and kidney, he seemed to be totally unperturbed and confident. He was waiting in Chennai for months for those organs to be available from a suitable living source. Therefore when they became available he seemed to be excited, rather than becoming worried, and when he was being taken to the operation theatre, his mood was of total confidence as if he knew without a shadow of doubt that the operation would be successful. The first operation, the liver transplant, was successful. We felt somewhat hopeful, then we started to get one after another good news: His kidney transplant also was successful, and after about 10 hours of surgery he was taken to the ICU. He was supposed to be under total sedation for two days. However, the next day they took him out of it and we got the good news that the transplanted organs were functioning effectively and the ventilator had been taken out and he was breathing on his own. We felt thankful to Krishna for listening to our prayers and became confident about his situation. When he came out of his sedation and regained his consciousness, the first words that came from his mouth were “Jai Jagannath”. The doctors began to wonder whether this was a miracle. Yes, it was indeed a most wonderful miracle – an inconceivable display of Krishna’s mercy upon His very dear devotee. The latest news is that the transplanted kidney has been functioning so well that he passed 1.2 liters of urine. Whereas before the operation he was having dialysis thrice a week. The operation had been totally successful. Today, he came out of his bed and sat down on a chair for 20 minutes in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. These are all a very sure sign of remarkable recovery. When you look back, we can see that Jayapataka Maharaja always had been an amazingly outstanding devotee. When Srila Prabhupada decided to take our movement to Mayapur, Jayapataka Maharaja fully committed himself to that project recognizing that it was the most important mission of our movement. He not only committed to that mission but dedicated his whole life to it. Life was not easy in Mayapur those days. Not only did they not have proper living facility but there was no resources to even take care of their day to day needs. However, that difficult situation did not discourage him, rather inspired him to continue to serve Srila Prabhupada with full conviction. Since then what he had done in Mayapur is known to everyone. After Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, he started to give imitation as one of the first eleven initiating spiritual masters. When most of the devotees who assumed that responsibility became victims of Maya’s allurements and fell down from the spiritual path, he carried on without slightest deviation. When he had the stroke in Mumbai in 2008, the possibility of his survival was practically nil. That evening Mr. Ashok Hinduja, the owner of the Hinduja hospital where he was being treated, came along with the chief medical officer of the hospital and the head of the neurosurgery department, to meet us at the Juhu temple and informed us that we should prepare ourselves for Jayapataka Maharaj’s departure from this planet that night. However, we saw how inconceivably his recovered. His body may have been affected by that stroke but his mind, intelligence and spirt was not at all affected. Rather his memory and intelligence became even sharper and his determination to serve became even more stronger. He started to travel around the world, preaching and making disciples and now through this operation in Chennai we can see how wonderfully Krishna is protecting him. All these wonderful happenings are definite indicators of an extremely exhaled devotee who has dedicated himself completely in the service of Krishna and is being taken care of by Him in the most wonderful way. Although we long to see Jayapataka Maharaj in his vibrant youthful form – shooting arrows to hit the bull’s eye, stick in his hand marching forward with a group of devotees following him to face the dacoits, swim across the Ganges like a champion swimmer, broadcasting the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in front of thousands of spellbound audience, but still we consider it to be our great good fortune that he is still with us to push Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission fulfilling the dreams of Srila Prabhupada. Just his presence gives us so much confidence and brings so much joy to our hearts. We are so thankful to Krishna for listening to our prayers and letting him be with us.

Gunagrahi das Maharaja Health Update
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Gunagrahi das Maharaja Health Update.
** Important health report of ss Gunagrahi Maharaja *** Hare Krishna devotees please accept my obeisances, all the glories to Srila Prabhupada I hope you are very well. As everyone knows Maharaja was doing during these last 8 months, a very austere Ayurvedic treatment which consisted mainly in the taking of liquid mercury and 10 liters of water per day and in which, every 15 days, we would check with the doctor the Maharaja’s health and to renew his medicine.

Policeman join in Auckland NZ ’s Holi 2018 Celebration…
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Policeman join in Auckland NZ ’s Holi 2018 Celebration (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In old age, at the time of death, the throat sometimes becomes choked with mucus or blocked by air. At such a time the sound vibration of Hare Krishna may not come out. Thus one may forget Krishna. Of course, those who are strong in Krishna Consciousness cannot possibly forget Krishna at any stage because they are accustomed to chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, especially when there is a signal from death. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.28.15 Purport)
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ASK a GURU – episode 1 (14 min video)
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ASK a GURU – episode 1 (14 min video)
ISKCON Ljubljana, Slovenia: We started a series called “ASK a GURU”. The main point is that in every episode there is a different Guru answering questions that devotees send to us.
“ASK a GURU” SHOW episodes with different ISKCON GURUS who answer your questions. If you have a question, a doubt, about soul, karma, meditation, spiritual world or God and want to be answered in the future from a GURU, just send it to our email: video.hkc@gmail.com”
So this is first episode with HH Candramauli Swami.

Celebrate Janmasthami & Vyasa Puja with Joy of Devotion Film…
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Celebrate Janmasthami & Vyasa Puja with Joy of Devotion Film Screening.
In honor of ISKCON’s 50thanniversary, two award-winning film were produced. While Yadubara Das’ film the Hare Krishna! presents Prabhupada’s extraordinary life, an ISKCON Communications Ministry documentary The Joy of Devotion directed by Krisztina Danka (Krishna Lila Dasi) of Karuna Productions picks up where the other film leaves off and captures Prabhupada’s worldwide impact, and gives an overview about what ISKCON is today, featuring dramatic, personal and very inspiring stories of devotees around the world and the difference they are making in society.
To read the complete article please click here: https://goo.gl/NLBNe8

“Live Consciously” retreat in Brisbane connects hearts and souls
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“Live Consciously” retreat connects hearts and souls
Jayshree devi dasi: Last weekend (11 and 12 August 2018) around 80 devotees from Brisbane participated in a spiritual retreat facilitated by HG Chaitanya Charan das at Camp Warrawee. Located in beautiful natural bushland, on the North Pine river only 35 minutes from Brisbane Camp Warrawee served as a contemporary banyan tree in which devotees of all age groups, toddlers, teenagers and adults, took shelter to learn the art of applying scriptures in real life. An entire weekend was spent in devotional activities including morning program, chanting, kirtan, skits and discussions on various themes from the Mahabharat including,

From a recent seminar on Kirtan Standards. Bhaktimarga Swami
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From a recent seminar on Kirtan Standards.
Bhaktimarga Swami: “I am going to Montreal on Monday, June 3rd, and if I find Montreal quite suitable, I shall call you and some other students to assemble there to practice Sankirtana in a systematic way. Of course, chanting Hare Krishna does not require any artificial artistic sense, but still, if the procedure is presented rhythmically, then the people may be attracted more by the transcendental music.” (Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Upendra, June 1, 1968)

“Bhakta” Patrick (Album of photos) Indradyumna…
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“Bhakta” Patrick (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: This is a guest who came to our festival yesterday. His name is Patrick. He came a little late and only caught one minute of my lecture from the stage. But somehow the philosophy of Bhavagad Gita had a profound effect on him. He immediately went to the book table and purchased 12 books. When I met him there I said, “You must be an avid reader!” He replied, “Actually, no. In my entire life I’ve only read 3 or 4 books. But what you shared with us from the stage really touched me. I promise you I will read all 12 of these books within no time!” Jaya Srila Prabhupada!
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The Bhadra scene in Toronto (Album of photos) Team Toronto set a…
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The Bhadra scene in Toronto (Album of photos)
Team Toronto set a goal for 54 sets of which they’ve distributed 40 during the successful launch with HHGopal Krishna Goswami! Since then the teams been heading out door to door, and at festivals and through personal contacts – distributing more sets!
Find them here: https://is.gd/tlCHfT

Srila Prabhupada: “I just want to go back to the spiritual world and eat kachoris and laddus with Krishna.”
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Srila Prabhupada: “I just want to go back to the spiritual world and eat kachoris and laddus with Krishna.”
Srutakirti Prabhu: Srila Prabhupada was not just performing wonderful activities, but he teaching us by his activities how to be a pure devotee of the Lord.

Newbury Rathayatra, UK (Album of photos and videos) Vishal…
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Newbury Rathayatra, UK (Album of photos and videos)
Vishal Gauranga dasa: On the 11th of August we once again had our colorful 3rd Annual Jagannath Rathayatra in Newbury with great pomp and reverence. Deputy mayor of the town joyfully engaged in the inauguration ceremony with other senior delegates from ISKCON. People from all walks of life took part in this colorful festival. On a mild cloudy day the Rathyatra began at the marketplace famous in the UK for it’s corn exchange in yesteryears Food For All – our food distribution charity headed by Parasuram prabhu distributed more than 2,000 plates of hot free vegetarian meals to everyone who attended the festival site and everyone relished the feast as usual and more than 1,000 free fruits were also distributed to the public. Local newspaper the Newbury Times and BBC Berkshire Radio covered the event. So the Newbury Rathayatra Festival 2018 was very successful bringing the community together and people of all age groups were engaged in the devotional mood all through the day. Many commented that this festival had brought a lot of PEACE, a very colorful way of celebrating the joy of life and brought UNITY in DIVERSITY among the local communities who want us to conduct more festivals which can bridge any gaps between the different ethnic groups.
Here is the link to the photos from the festival: https://chriscaswell.zenfolio.com/p401363697/hb3cba96b#hb3cce669
and videos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ajXLohd5ENN4JkFa6

Relating to Srimad-Bhagavatam as a Person. “O…
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Relating to Srimad-Bhagavatam as a Person.
“O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O my only friend, O my companion, O my teacher, O my great wealth, O my deliverer, O my good fortune, O my bliss, I offer respectful obeisances unto You. O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O giver of saintliness to the unsaintly, O uplifter of the very fallen, please do not ever leave me. Please become manifested upon my heart and my throat, accompanied by pure love of Krishna.” 1
Krishna Premarupa Dasa: This prayer written by Srila Sanatana Goswami reveals the relationship of an advanced Vaishnava with the Srimad Bhagavatam. He calls the holy book his friend, companion, and teacher! Reading these lines I ask myself, “what is my relationship to the Bhagavatam?” I feel ashamed. It’s just a book, a book that stands in the bookshelf and collects dust. Ok, I am also studying it from time to time. But do I really value my time with this book? And what does it mean to have a friendship with a book?
The Srimad Bhagavatam is not an ordinary book, it is actually no different from the Lord. This scripture named Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of God. This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana. 2
Holy scriptures are meant to give guidance to the conditioned soul. It can be compared to a manual. If you buy a new computer or a washing machine, along with it there will be a manual that gives you guidance on how to use the machine properly. Similarly, when God creates this world, He gives guidance in the form of holy scriptures to the living entities on how to deal with the material nature. According to the consciousness and desires of people, there are different scriptures. If someone really wants to go back home back to Godhead, the Srimad Bhagavatam offers all support on how to do that by kicking out all kind of cheating religion and promoting only pure devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Understanding the significance of the Bhagavatam Srila Sanatana Goswami prays: please never leave me! But is it the Bhagavatam who leaves us? No, it’s us. I leave the Bhagavatam. The Bhagavatam, the Lord, is always with us. It is we who turn away from Him. While studying for four months I was so absorbed and took a vow to not let a single day pass without seriously studying the Bhagavatam. But back in the battlefield of my managerial responsibility here in Zurich I again fall into the trap of `I am too busy for studying`! Of course, we might be really busy, but at the end of the day, it is all about setting the right priorities! There are so many things we do every day without fail because they are just essential to us. Every day we find time to sleep several hours, to clean our teeth, to pass stool, to take a bath and to eat three times a day. We may argue that we need to do these things in order to maintain our body. Fine, but what about maintaining our spiritual life? Why do I not find time to read a few lines of the Srimad Bhagavatam, that literature that is non-different from the Lord and who is giving me true nourishment for my soul in the form of amazing philosophy and relishable Krishna Katha?
I am so grateful that the Bhakti Vaibhava Course has started again and that I am able to follow some of the material even when I am not physically present in Vrindavana. Now that I am receiving the recordings, submitting my weekly homework and learning Sanskrit Slokas, I am again back on track. Life is so much better with the companionship of the holy scripture, the Srimad Bhagavatam! Hopefully, I will someday realize how this scripture is actually my only true friend, my great wealth!
_____
1 – From Krishna-Lila-Stava by Srila Sanatana Goswami
2 – Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.40/43

Dancing Out Of Joy (Album of photos) “In a variety of…
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Dancing Out Of Joy (Album of photos)
“In a variety of ways, the inauspiciousness of the earth is destroyed by the feet, the inauspiciousness of the directions is destroyed by the eye glances and the inauspiciousness of the heavens is destroyed by the arms of a Visnu-bhakta dancing out of joy.” [ Hari-bhakti-vilasa 8.288 ]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/v6sMcN