Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Appreciate small victories as stepping stones to big victories…
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Appreciate small victories as stepping stones to big victories Gita 06.25 (4 min. video)
Chaitanya Charan Das: When we fight against our lower desires, we sometimes succeed. But our mind frequently undermines our success: “What’s the big deal? You resisted temptation today, but you will be tempted again: tomorrow, the day after and the day after that. How long can you resist? You will succumb eventually.”
Yes, a small victory in sense control doesn’t mean we have become self-controlled. But that doesn’t mean small victories count for nothing; they count, as stepping stones to a big victory, just as small steps count in covering a long distance. The Bhagavad-gita (06.25) urges us to use our intellectual conviction to gradually, step-by-step, fix our mind on spiritual reality.
Applying this incremental approach, we can celebrate our small victories – celebrate not egoistically, “Just see how self-controlled I am,” but gratefully, “If I strive earnestly for self-control by practicing bhakti-yoga, I can actually get absorbed in Krishna and resist temptation. Bhakti’s higher taste is for real.”
While striving for self-mastery, we need encouragement. And we can get immense encouragement by experiencing that we have been able to exercise, even if to a modest degree, the self-regulation that we had earlier thought impossible. When our efforts and Krishna’s grace have manifested such evidence in the form of our small victory, why let our mischievous mind deny that evidence’s significance?
After all, lifelong self-control is nothing but the act of daily self-control repeated lifelong. With this positive attitude, we can turn the mind’s argument on its head: “If I can resist temptation today, I can resist it tomorrow too. And it may even become easier tomorrow as I start relishing the freedom coming from self-control and the joy coming from uninterrupted absorption in Krishna.”
By such affirmative reflection, we can march humbly yet confidently towards self-mastery and pure devotion.
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Verse 06.25 – “Gradually, step by step, one should become situated in trance by means of intelligence sustained by full conviction, and thus the mind should be fixed on the Self alone and should think of nothing else.“
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/vn3RRe

Bhaktivedanta Academy has been featured in a major article in…
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Bhaktivedanta Academy has been featured in a major article in redefinEd, a publication dedicated to school choice and educational alternatives.
Livi Stanford: Alachua, Fla. – The art projects were distinct from most others. Students at Bhaktivedanta Academy had to use pieces of trash to create artwork weighing less than 50 pounds.
The project, Trashformations, was part of the 19th-annual student recycled art competition sponsored by the Alachua County Commission.
Students at the academy, which is rooted in the Hindu faith, worked tirelessly and won first place for their aquarium they built entirely out of discarded materials. They also garnered a third-place award for a city built out of similar material.

ISKCON Mayapur in the news about waste management on our…
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ISKCON Mayapur in the news about waste management on our property.
Clean Dham, clean your heart: ISKCON Mayapur’s waste management drive.
Timesofindia.indiatimes: KOLKATA. Mayapur being a holy Dham, global headquarter of ISKCON and an important tourist destination of India is visited by lakhs of pilgrims, tourists, devotees from across the world every year. Also a vibrant ISKCON community permanently stays here. This results in accumulation of huge quantities of garbage and waste material which poses a major threat for the environment.
For the ISKCON devotees, the Mayapur Dham, the birth place of Sri Chaitanya Maha Prabhu is a sacred and revered place and hence the management conceptualised the idea of implementing ‘Zero Waste Mayapur – Clean Dham and Clean Your Heart’ exercise with the aim of gradually bringing down the garbage level to zero, informed Harilila Das, member of the Management team which has initiated the programme.
“Earlier the garbage remained dumped in large volumes leading to the formation of harmful methane gas and leachate, a kind of liquid that percolated through the soil and polluted the ground water. Therefore, it was decided to convert the dumped garbage into something of utility for mankind,” said Das.
Elaborating on the mechanism, Das further added that, “ISCON has developed an Eco centre where latest machinery and technology has been set up near the ISKCON campus and volunteers collect more than 6 tonnes of garbage per day from important centres of Mayapur. From this huge load, toxic waste – discarded tablets, batteries, CFL lamps etc is sorted, arranged in lines and systematically composting is done. Two types of composting are done – bacterial compost and verni compost. By adding bacteria to the waste it produces humus which can be used as organic fertilizer and verni compost produces a liquid which is used to enrich the soil and increase the produce of the crops. This recycled substance is also used by the horticulture department of ISKCON to maintain the beautiful gardens.”
A team of community members and devotees has been formed to create awareness about the campaign and importance of the clean environment.
“To spread awareness within the community and visitors, a team led by a Russian devotee, Pivel Katev, has started organizing ‘Clean the Dham’ drive every week wherein group of devotees take up the broom and get into the act of sweeping and removing the garbage from streets, localities of Mayapur. Today, a group of 20 devotees consisting of women, children and men from various countries like Russia, China, Germany and many more countries enthusiastically cleaned the entire Gournagar area of Mayapur.”
Madhavi, a 5-year-old Russian girl espoused the cause by helping other senior devotees in carrying bags and gathering the garbage. Anton, from Belarus, has been participating in this weekly drive for a month and he derives a great sense of happiness in cleaning as he feels this is the highest service to make Lord Chaitanya happy. The group of devotees also educate the people to discourage the use of plastics.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/DxTZ7S

Katwa, Where Lord Caitanya Took Sannyasa (Album of photos)…
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Katwa, Where Lord Caitanya Took Sannyasa (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Ever since taking sannyasa in 1979, I have had a strong desire to visit the town of Katwa, where Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa 500 years ago.Today my wish was fulfilled when myself and 60 devotees made the 2-hour journey from Sridham Mayapura to Katwa. Naru Gopal prabhu took us to the exact spot where Mahaprabhu was shaved up by a barber and where He took His sannyasa vows from Kesava Bharati Maharaja. He expertly described the pastime in great detail. Afterwards, we took darshan of the samadhi where Lord Caitanya’s hair is kept, as well as the samadhi of Kesava Bharati Maharaja. We prayed at the historic tree under which Lord Caitanya’s beautiful long hair was shaved and also bowed down to the samadhi of Das Gadadhar. Naru Gopal explained that Lord Caitanya had kirtan where we were for 3 days straight after taking sannyasa. Following in His footsteps we chanted and danced for hours in front of a beautiful deity of Lord Caitanya in a large temple on the grounds. It was a most wonderful day! All glories to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cDaSJf

Harinama in Alto Palermo, Argentina (Album with photos) Srila…
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Harinama in Alto Palermo, Argentina (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “If one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, then very quickly he is cleansed of all offenses. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, he feels the ecstasy of love for God.”(Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.31)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/XSo91Q

Yesterday’s Food. Dhirasanta Das Goswami: Once there was…
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Yesterday’s Food.
Dhirasanta Das Goswami: Once there was a very rich merchant, doing well in business, whose wife had died long ago. He had one married son and his daughter-in-law was very wise and expert in household work. He was very proud of her.
Once he was having lunch at his verandah when a monk came to his door asking for some food. The merchant didn’t pay attention as he never used to give anything to these kind of people. The monk asked again and didn’t get any reply. As he was asking for the third time, the daughter-in-law replied politely, “Dear babaji, go next-door, my father-in-law is himself having yesterday’s food, he will not be able to give you anything.”
The monk understood and went ahead. But as the merchant heard these words spoken by the girl, he became very angry with her, he was the richest person in the village – why should he eat yesterday’s food? The girl must have become insane – he thought. As much as he was very proud of her wisdom, his anger was even greater – how was it that he hadn’t realized this girl’s insanity? He summoned the village court and informed the girl’s father that the girl was out of her mind and his son would break this marriage tie.
As people gathered at the court, he related the event and asked for justice – which was to untie the marriage of his son in his point of view. The girl’s father was also present – he said, “I know my daughter is wise enough not to speak any meaningless words, but I am unable to understand the meaning of what she has said – so I will request her to come and explain why she spoke like that. It is not wise to give a decision without hearing her.”
The court agreed and the girl spoke the following: “My meaning is that he has done many good deeds in his previous lives, which is why he has got these wonderful blessings from God, allowing him to enjoy now. In this way it is his yesterday’s earned food. But he is not doing any good deeds in this life, he is only earning money for himself.
I love him very much and want him to enjoy these blessings forever, so I wanted to tell him this truth. That is why I said what I did. I knew he would be angry and want an explanation, which would allow me an opportunity to tell him.”
The merchant understood the real meaning of the words and felt very much ashamed to bring his wise daughter-in-law in to court. So he apologized and began doing some good deeds for others.
It is general practice that people either enjoy their present blessings or feel inferior while seeing others who have more possessions in life. People always wonder why another has more wealth, why they are more intelligent, they forget that each and every thing is our own earning. Whatever we have sown, we are reaping now. And the result of whatever we are doing now will come to us in the future, be it material treasure or spiritual realization.
In the same way that people enjoy their current position, they laugh at others who don’t have intellect, money and other things – they enjoy even their spiritual status, but they forget that if they do not work in the present, their current treasure will slowly be spent.
Just like when you put grains in a grain storage silo. You put the grains in the top and you take them out from the bottom. It is just a matter of time before you receive that quality of grains which you previously put in at the top. So we should sow for tomorrow while we are reaping the seeds of yesterday.

Prince of Wales lauds faith leaders at gala event. Kripamoya…
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Prince of Wales lauds faith leaders at gala event.
Kripamoya das, Guru Carana Padma dasi and Sita Ram das joined the Archbishop to Canterbury, the Chief Rabbi and leaders from across the private, public and voluntary sectors at a Gala event in London to commemorate Faith in Leadership’s 10th Anniversary.
Founded and led by Krish Raval, a congregational member of the Manor since his schooldays, Faith in Leadership is the UK’s main leadership programme for faith communities. HRH The Prince of Wales sent a video message in which he described Faith in Leadership as an “essential” in “healing the world we share” and similar sentiments were expressed by the Prime Minister and other leaders.

Venugopal Prabhu ACBSP has departed. Prananatha Das: Dear…
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Venugopal Prabhu ACBSP has departed.
Prananatha Das: Dear Venugopal Prabhu. I don’t think you’re going back to Godhead. I think you’re already there. Like lightning and illumination, which happens simultaneously, the moment you left this mortal body, you appeared in the spiritual realm, to relish the mature fruit, of a life lived in loving devotion. We remember you with love and affection and await the day when we will reunite, under the eternal loving guidance and care, of Srila Prabhupada.

The film “Hare Krishna!” has come to Dnipro,…
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The film “Hare Krishna!” has come to Dnipro, Ukraine! (Album with photos)
There were a lot of people, everyone really liked it, as always people came out after the show with tears in their eyes. One new man came out and asked, “ how can I serve? What do you have to do?”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hQWFCj

Seth Rogen gets an ‘Elevation to Krsna…
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Seth Rogen gets an ‘Elevation to Krsna Consciousness’ book. By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Album of photos)
Drumila Dasa: As I often do when I see people approaching me, I give them nicknames right away. To get the attention of the three people that were walking towards me (two of which were women), I said, “You two ladies and Seth Rogen come over here.” I said that because I thought he looked like Seth Rogen. Knowing that I was joking, all three came over. Right away, after hearing his voice, and his signature laughter, I realized it actually WAS Seth Rogen! (The very famous actor, and comedian extraordinaire) I told him that I did my routine for the likes of Emma Stone, Russell Brand, and numerous others, and would he please hear me out. He agreed, and we all had a lot of fun. Afterwards, I presented books to each of the three, and asked them which title they preferred, ‘Easy Journey to other Planets’, Perfection of Yoga’, or Elevation to Krsna Consciousness.’ Seth immediately said something to this effect, “Oh…I’ll take ‘Elevation to Krsna Consciousness.’ It’s got to be Krishna, right?” I said, “Absolutely! Good choice!”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/UnfhWv

The Sacred Village of Srikhanda (Album of photos) Indradyumna…
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The Sacred Village of Srikhanda (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The village of Srikhanda, a 3-hour scenic drive from Sridham Mayapura, is mentioned many times in Caitanya Caritamrta. Yesterday we spent 5 …hours exploring the village where a number of Lord Caitanya’s personal associates resided 500 years ago. We had kirtan and katha at the exact place where Locan das Thakur wrote Caitanya Mangala. We also visited numerous temples where we had darshan of historic deities connected to the lilas of Lord Caitanya. The highlight of the day was an exuberant kirtan we held through the entire village. The local people were in bliss seeing us. Here in the holy dhama of Mayapura, we are trying our best to follow in the footsteps of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, who wrote:
“In the company of intimate and beloved devotees, I will go to all the places that Mahaprabhu joyfully visited.”
(Suddha-Bhakata, verse 3)]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Q7YAiP

“Becoming a Slave of Krishna” (5 min video)
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“Becoming a Slave of Krishna” (5 min video)
The aspiration of the pure devotee is to be a slave of Krishna and the aspiration of the materialist is to be master. As conditioned souls trying to be Krishna conscious we fall somewhere in the middle. Surrender is the sweetest position but due to conditioning in thinking, we may fear it see it as unpleasant or even be afraid of it.

“We are making a very gorgeous plan at Mayapur, and if you all…
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“We are making a very gorgeous plan at Mayapur, and if you all together can give shape to this plan, it will be unique if not in the whole world then at least in all of India…. The aim is to make it an international institute for taking perfect spiritual order of life. We shall give titles like Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Divinity, Doctor of Divinity…. Our mission is solid. Our philosophy is not utopian. Our men are being trained for exemplary character. So we shall have a unique position all over the world, provided we stick to the principles, namely unflinching faith in the spiritual master and Krsna, chanting not less than sixteen rounds regularly, and following the regulative principles. Then our men will conquer all over the world.’