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Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Viprahita Das Prabhu has left…
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Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Viprahita Das Prabhu has left this world.
Lalita Sakhi: Hare Krsna!
Dear beloved devotees and friends…
Dandavat Pranams! All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga!
I’m sorry to have to announce that Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Viprahita Das Prabhu has left this world at 5:10am yesterday morning.
There will be a funeral service this afternoon. We’re sorry for the short notice. The details are below as well as a short biography of Viprahita Prabhu’s life!
Jaya Nitai Gauranga!
Viprahita Prabhu was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1974 in the Henry Street, Brooklyn Temple. He was born and raised in the Dominic Republic and his family came to New York in the 60’s. Viprahita was a yoga teacher in New York before joining ISKCON. He did book distribution and preaching in New York, Hong Kong. Later he went to Los Angeles to serve in the Spanish BBT as a translator.
He spent some time in Miami doing preaching and deity worship.
He went to Puerto Rico in 1984 to assist in running a preaching center.
He married his wife, Ananga Manjari there, and they moved to Alachua in 2013. He met the devotees of Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja in Alachua and became attracted to serving Sri Sri Radha Govinda. He would daily do the morning puja and bathing until he became too sick to continue.
Viprahita Prabhu was a joyful and humble devotee who loved to dance in Kirtan. He was loved by all and he will be remembered for his oceanic smile and ecstatic dancing, especially on HariNama Sankirtan!
Viprahita Prabhu is survived by his wife and daughter, Anne Jeanette (Anasuya dd) who lives in Orlando.

In The Lap Of Krishna (5 min video) Krishna says there is a…
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In The Lap Of Krishna (5 min video)
Krishna says there is a spiritual world which is beyond this world. One can only attain that world when we live a life which is free from duplicity, pride, hypocrisy. When we actually try to lead a pure life free from greed, pride, lust, envy and anger. And we actually focus our attention and mind in how to serve the Supreme Lord and His desire. Let us appreciate that all of us, have our own small and big struggles. We should be convinced that we are not alone in our struggles, whether we are able to see or not, whether we are able to experience or not, we are ultimately all struggling in the lap of Krishna’s desire. And if we turn our attention to actually accept His desire favorably, we will be in his loving embrace.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/g9oERs

The power of habit is terrible – and terrific
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The power of habit is terrible – and terrific (Based on Gita 02.62)
Habit can be terribly powerful. When people get caught in some bad habits such as smoking or drinking, they find quitting those habits almost impossible – it appears that habits have a power bigger than theirs.
The key in dealing with habits is understanding that even if habits can’t be rejected, they can be replaced. Whatever habits we have, they serve some need. To the extent we cultivate a positive habit that fulfills the need fulfilled by a negative habit, to that extent freeing ourselves from the negative habit becomes easier.

Hari-Nama-Cintamani, chapter 3 -…
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Hari-Nama-Cintamani, chapter 3 – Namabhasa-bicara
“Considerations regarding Namabhasa”
Extending His lotus hand, merciful Lord Caitanya picked up Haridasa. He said, “Haridasa, by your words I wish to understand namabhasa very clearly. One who understands nämäbhäsa can attain çuddha-näma, pure chanting of the holy name. By the mercy of the pure holy name that soul can easily cross over the ocean of birth and death.”
Read more: https://goo.gl/UpvfYK

Harinama in Cologne, Germany (Album with photos) Srila…
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Harinama in Cologne, Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: It is very, very encouraging that you are holding kirtanas in public places and some way or other people are becoming interested. These outdoor kirtanas should be rigidly followed at least one hour daily. That will make our movement popular there. We have good experience here in every city, especially Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and here in Columbus. This is making our movement very popular more and more, So in any circumstances, you all go together outdoors for kirtana at least for one hour daily.
From Srila Prabhupada’s Letter to Krsna Dasa – Columbus, Ohio, May 17th 1969
Find them here: https://goo.gl/h6nKju

Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra – Cheeka, Haryana, India (Album with…
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Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra – Cheeka, Haryana, India (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The books are being written specifically for my students and I am so glad to learn that you read them so carefully. The words are ambrosial because they are not my personal words, they are instructions of my predecessors and I am just trying to administer them to my best knowledge. That is the way of Parampara system. We have nothing to manufacture, but simply carry the message as a faithful peon. That will be effective. One should be very sincere to his Spiritual Master and Krsna simultaneously. Then everything comes out successful. That is the verdict of the Vedas and Lord Caitanya. (From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Jayapataka – Los Angeles 17 April, 1970)
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All Things Must Pass
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All Things Must Pass.
Dhirasanta Das Goswami: Once a king called upon all his wise men and asked, “Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and at every time, something which can help me when none of you are available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?”
All the wise men were puzzled by the king’s question. One answer for all questions, something that works everywhere, in every situation, In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought.

Stepping Into Ukraine (10 min video)
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Stepping Into Ukraine (10 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: After Russia, we continued our preaching tour in Ukraine. The Ukraine Yatra is one of the most successful in ISKCON with over 15,000 devotees. We first visited Kharkiv where we participated in an amazing Ratha Yatra and then went on to Kiev, the capital, where we had darshan of Radha Madhava in our movement’s biggest temple in the country. There we had several days of kirtan and lectures in an ocean of blissful devotees!

*All India Padayatra NEWS.* By Acarya Dasa. On May 19 and 20,…
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*All India Padayatra NEWS.*
By Acarya Dasa.
On May 19 and 20, 2018, All India Padayatra traveled from Hubali city to Navgaon via Keshavpur in Karnataka.
For the pleasure of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara, Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev we would like to announce the book distribution score of All India Padayatra on 19th and 20th May, 2018.
Maha-big Books – 112
Big Books – 12
Small Books – 239
Total Books – 363.
Sri Sri Nitai Gaurasundara ki jai…
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai…
More photos: https://goo.gl/aTZyiF

Rathayatra in Rome, Italy (video)
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Rathayatra in Rome, Italy (video)
Srila Prabhupada: The mind is restless, always desiring something, desiring something. So the best policy to control the mind is to desire how to spread Krsna consciousness. This is the best. Kamah krsna-karmarpane. Narottama dasa Thakura has said that you cannot be free from desire. That is not possible. This is useless attempt. They say that “You become desireless.” No, that is not possible. How can I? If I become desireless, I become dead. So long I am living entity, I must desire. I cannot check it. Therefore kama means desire. So at the present moment, we are desiring how to become happy in this material world, how to acquire so much money, how to acquire this, how to acquire this, how to get this, how to get that. This is kama. So this brain taxation, if you engage in Krsna’s service – how to spread Krsna consciousness, how to convince people about Krsna, how to take them to the Krsna’s desire, sarva-dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66] – and in this way, if you go on making plan for spreading Krsna consciousness, then your mind is controlled. Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.27 – January 4, 1975, Bombay

On 17th May 2018, Vaisesika Dasa gave a talk on “Keys to…
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On 17th May 2018, Vaisesika Dasa gave a talk on “Keys to Inner Fulfillment” @ Intel HQ in Santa Clara, California. This talk was part of a series on Mindfulness & Conscious Living. More than 250 employees attended his talk (including both in-studio audience & global audience). Everyone deeply appreciated how he connected engineering minds employing their terms of reference, and shared practical ways to better handle work, stress and relationships, leading to a more productive & fulfilling life.
Find the photos of the event here:https://goo.gl/QBzWNV

Meet Jemma, a real gem! Krsna Kripa das: In Sheffield, I chanted…
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Meet Jemma, a real gem!
Krsna Kripa das: In Sheffield, I chanted for an hour and a half by myself and another hour and a half with Sutapa Prabhu’s party. While I was chanting alone a young lady with a happy expression on her face looked in my direction, and I offered her an invitation to our festival. She said she already had the invitation, and she also had gotten a book on yoga which was one of her interests. I explained that Bhagavad-gita was the ultimate yoga book which explained the whole philosophy behind yoga, and which described four different kinds of yoga, and I tried to impress upon her that any serious spiritual aspirant should have a Bhagavad-gita, and this opportunity to get it should not be missed. She gave £5, and she took the Gita, and we continued our discussion about spiritual topics. She mentioned she liked to sing, and I asked her if she liked the Beatles. She said that her father was really into the Beatles, and so I explained to her about how Chant and Be Happy told of the conversation between George Harrison and John Lennon with our spiritual teacher, Srila Prabhupada, about chanting and meditation. She gave another £2 and took that book too.
I told her we were going to chant with a whole party of people at 3:00 p.m., and I invited her to join us. She did for five minutes or so. She said she had to work the night of our event, but that she would come for the last hour and a half. People as favorable as this Jemma who teaches dance in Sheffield are rare! In fact, when she told me her name was Jemma, I said, “That must be because you are a real gem!”

Harinama Sankirtana in Auckland, New Zealand (Album with…
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Harinama Sankirtana in Auckland, New Zealand (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If you think of Krsna twenty-four hours, then you’ll become fully Krsna conscious, and your life is successful. Don’t allow anything. This requires little practice, abhyasa-yoga-yuktena cetasa nanya-gamina [Bg. 8.8]. I should not allow my mind to go, to think of any other subject than Krsna. Now we have got so many books. So whenever you find time… You must find time. There is so much time. So read all these books or chant. But when you are hungry, you take prasadam. When you are sleepy, take a snap. Not very much, just to refresh. And go on, either chanting the beads or reading the books or talking about Krsna. In this way, always remain in Krsna consciousness. Smartavyah satatam visnuh. Krsna consciousness means to remember Visnu always, twenty-four hours. Some way or other. Type for Krsna, write for Krsna, go outside for Krsna, sankirtana party, sell book for Krsna, bring money for Krsna, spend for Krsna. Krsna. That’s all. Everything Krsna. This is Krsna consciousness.Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.14-15 – May 31, 1972, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Wz5W9m

Preaching program in Turkey By Sivarama Swami (Album with…
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Preaching program in Turkey By Sivarama Swami (Album with photos)
Pradyumna: “If the ear is not engaged in the service of the Lord by hearing about Him in the Bhagavad-gita or in the Srimad Bhagavatam, certainly the holes of the ear will be filled up with some rubbish.”
Prabhupada: Yes. This is the secret. We have got the ears, and we have got the sound also. Just like we are reading this book. So if we don’t fill up our ears with this transcendental sound, then it will be filled up with some rubbish things. It cannot remain empty. Either you fill up with transcendental message, or you fill up with rubbish nonsense. Two ways. So if you take care that your earholes are always filled up with the transcendental message of Krsna, so there is no scope for rubbish things to enter into it. So therefore our attempt should be twenty-four hours hearing. Kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31]. Twenty-four hours. As soon as you get time, read books, discuss amongst yourself, [indistinct]. Don’t fill up the ears with rubbish things. Then advance will be choked up.
June 17, 1972, Los Angeles
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Holy Name Retreat in New Vrindaban (Album of photos) We…
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Holy Name Retreat in New Vrindaban (Album of photos)
We attended the Holy Name Retreat by HH Sacinandana Swami in New Vrindaban this year with hundreds of other blissful devotees. We had several seminars and workshops and people from many parts of the country joined in this blissful experience and celebrated mother’s day by cutting a gigantic cake made by Lakshman Poddar. Please come with us to the beautiful New Vrindaban where the merciful Deity Sri Sri Radha Vrindaban Chandra resides.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/o4TdMH

Spirituality & Wellness event in Mumbai (Album with…
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Spirituality & Wellness event in Mumbai (Album with photos)
Gaur Gopal Das shared dias with Indian Film Actress Manisha Koirala, at Global Exhibition on Services, India (GES) on 17th May 2018 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
GES is one of the biggest global events of the Services Sector organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Services Export Promotion Council(SEPC)-India and Maharashtra Government.
The session entitled ‘Celebrity Session,’ discussed Spirituality & Wellness and was moderated by Mr Mangalam Maloo from CNBC-TV18.

Ecstatic Harinam Sankirtan in Union Square park Thursday, May…
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Ecstatic Harinam Sankirtan in Union Square park Thursday, May 17th (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: What we are requesting you? “You think of Krsna. Chant Hare Krsna.” That’s all. Where is the difficulty? We don’t say, “You think of that, this of that, to this demigod, that demigod.” No. We don’t say. What is the use of other demigod? We show all respect to everyone, even to the ant, but that does not mean that any demigod, any damn, any rascal, should be worshiped as God? No. That is not possible. We can show respect even to the insignificant ant. Trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna [Cc. Adi 17.31, Siksastaka 3]. That may be another thing. But we cannot accept anyone as God. That is not possible. That is knowledge. That is knowledge. Be convinced firmly, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]: “Bhagavan means Krsna, nobody else.” Kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah yajante anya-devatah [Bg. 7.20]. Anya-devatah, accept as God, they are accepted by the rascals, hrta-jnanah, those who have lost their knowledge. So don’t be lost of your knowledge. Stick to Krsna and accept His words as it is. -Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 16.1-3 – January 29, 1975, Honolulu
Find them here: https://goo.gl/YMRXZn

Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gitas in Arabic profusely…
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Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gitas in Arabic profusely distributed!
In the photo: Visiting Saudi Arabian family clearly joyful to be getting the Arabic Gita from Mahotsaha Prabhu in New York City. These new Gitas just arrived in New York only a few weeks ago, and he has already distributed the first full carton of 28 copies himself. He just wrote of the personal happiness he is feeling from this type of sankirtan and said he always has one of these Arabic Gitas in his hand while simultaneously begging to meet someone to take it…

North America’s 21st annual Vaishnava-Christian…
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North America’s 21st annual Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue.
Twenty-five people attended the dialogue, with a theme this year of “Monasticism from the Vaishnava and Christian Perspectives.” Christian participants included the Abbot and several monks from a local Catholic monastery, a Protestant minister, a husband and wife team of Christian scholars, and several professors from the Washington D.C. area. A coroner and a sculptor rounded out the varied group. Among the Vaishnavas were ISKCON Communications Director Anuttama Das and his wife Rukmini Dasi, who founded the dialogue. Joining them were religious studies professor Garuda Das and his wife Krishna Kanta Dasi; Ravindra Svarupa Das, who holds a PhD from Temple University; and Sraddha Dasi, who has a Masters Degree in religious studies from Harvard.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/Ds9VeH

“Who is Pure Devotee?” by HG Mahatma Prabhu
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“Who is Pure Devotee?” by HG Mahatma Prabhu – May 16, 2018 (5 min video)
You speak of pure devotee, that he is saktyavesa avatara, that we should obey him only—these things are the wrong idea. If anyone thinks like that, that a pure devotee should be obeyed and no one else, that means he is a nonsense. We advise everyone to address one another as Prabhu. Prabhu means master, so how the master should be disobeyed? Others, they are also pure devotees. All of my disciples are pure devotees. Anyone sincerely serving the spiritual master is a pure devotee.

Art Of Tolerance – By HH Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami
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Art Of Tolerance – By HH Bhakti Dhira Damodara Swami (28 min video)
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Shri Krishna Says – “Oh Arjuna! The temporary appearance and disappearance of happiness and distress, it happens just like the changing of the season. It arises due to contact of the senses with the sense objects. It is constantly changing, tolerate it and move on. Some problems need to be tackled immediately, some problems need to be ignored, some problems need to be tolerated and we cannot do anything about it. Therefore all of us have to realize that the forces that are evade against us are much more powerful than our ability to cope with them each and every time”

A few pics from “Soul Expressions” event last week…
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A few pics from “Soul Expressions” event last week in the Manor, UK. (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In a memo, Prabhupada said to one devotee: “Your material formulas will not help you. Krsna consciousness means to become mad after Krsna and to follow the order of the spiritual master. Quoted in BTG #29-05, 1995
Find them here: https://goo.gl/bd7wdt

Kirtan-fest in Riga, Latvia’s capital, filled the city and our…
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Kirtan-fest in Riga, Latvia’s capital, filled the city and our hearts sweet taste of holy name (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If a living entity is developed in Krsna consciousness and is merciful to others, and if his spiritual knowledge of self-realization is perfect, he will immediately attain liberation from the bondage of material existence. PURPORT In this verse the words daya jivesu, meaning “mercy to other living entities,” indicate that a living entity must be merciful to other living entities if he wishes to make progress in self-realization. This means he must preach this knowledge after perfecting himself and understanding his own position as an eternal servant of Krsna. Preaching this is showing real mercy to living entities. Other types of humanitarian work may be temporarily beneficial for the body, but because a living entity is spirit soul, ultimately one can show him real mercy only by revealing knowledge of his spiritual existence. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, jivera ‘svarupa’ haya-krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’: [Cc. Madhya 20.108] “Every living entity is constitutionally a servant of Krsna.” One should know this fact perfectly and should preach it to the mass of people. If one realizes that he is an eternal servant of Krsna but does not preach it, his realization is imperfect. >>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 4.29.1b
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hy981i