Author Archives: Dandavats

Hare Krishna! The Film: National Event Screening in Over 80 Cities!
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Hare KrishnaBy Visakha Dasi

My mission of life is to propagate the idea of cultivating spiritual vision, which alone can bring about peace and prosperity of the human society.” – Srila Prabhupada. Celebrate International Peace Day with Prabhupada! Hare Krishna! will show in over 80 Regal Cinemas nationwide. Bring along your family, friends, colleagues, yoga buddies or student groups to see the film!

President of Sri Lanka H.E. Maithripala Sirisena released a cow from the slaughter house and gifted it to ISKCON Goshala on his birthday
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Hare KrishnaBy Mahakarta Das

On the occasion of the 66th birthday on 03rd of September 2017, the President of Sri Lanka had special offerings at the Dehiwala Vishnu Temple in Sri Lanka and released a cow from the slaughter house and handed it over to Mahakarta Das – the temple president of ISKCON Sri Lanka. The pictures attached show the details of the ceremony. ISKCON Sri Lanka conducts cow protection program in the name of ISKCON Goshala. There are more than 50 cows including calves and bulls protected and maintained in the Goshala.

A Report: ‘Indian Government conveys their Best wishes on Sri Krishna Janmastami 2017’
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Hare KrishnaBy ISKCON Communicatios INDIA

This year, Sri Krishna Janmastami 2017 will be remembered for various reasons all across India & its capital, though Krishna Janmastami is a mega event of this country. The day of Janmastami is one of a pious occasion for Vaishnavas community that coincided with Indian Independence Day (15th August 1947) on this year. The occasion is well estimated for gathering of thousands of Krishna Devotees all across the ISKCON temples of India. ISKCON Communications India coordinates the Indian Government officials included Ministers, Judicial, bureaucrats and Dignitaries that representing Indian Government to help in catering the need for strengthening Krishna conscious movement within the government network. The presence of dignitaries from various leading organizations included as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Prime Minister Office (PMO), Delhi Police, Central Bureau of India (CBI), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian Judiciary.

Lord Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Indonesian Independence day celebration
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Hare KrishnaBy Hari Narayana Das

Lord Jagannath’s chariot closed the parade where Thousands of citizens both the surrounding community, domestic and foreign tourists packed along Malioboro Street until Zero Kilometer Point, August 26, 2017. They enjoy various performances on the parade to commemorate the Independence Day was that attended by thousands of participants from various quarters.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura – The Seventh Goswami
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Hare KrishnaBy Mayapur Communication Office

“Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German and American people will take up banners, mrdangas and karatalas and raise kirtana through their streets and towns. When will that day come? Oh, for the day when the fair-skinned men from their side will raise up the chanting of ‘jaya sacinandana, jaya sacinandana ki jaya’ and join with the Bengali devotees. When will that day be? On such a day they will say, ‘Our dear Brothers, we have taken shelter of the ocean of Lord Caitanya’s Love; kindly embrace us.’ When will that day come? That day will witness the holy transcendental ecstasy of the Vaisnava-dharma to be the only dharma, and all the sects and religions will flow like rivers into the ocean of Vaisnava -dharma. When will that day come?” -Bhaktivinoda Thakura

A Special Way to Observe Vamana Dvadasi
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Hare KrishnaBy Mayapur Communication

Srila Prabhupada said that to honor festivals such as Rama Navami and Vamana Dvadasi, a small boy could play the part of Krishna’s incarnation and the devotees could worship him accordingly. So every year in ISKCON Mayapur, a young gurukula boy takes on the role of Lord Vamanadeva. At midday on Sri Vamana Dvadasi, the curtains of the altar are drawn back to reveal that Lord Vamanadeva has appeared. A young brahmachari boy stands on the altar, dressed in a saffron dhoti and deerskin, and wearing a flower garland. He carries a chatram, or umbrella, in one hand and a kamandalu, or waterpot, in the other.

New Vrindaban Invites All North American ISKCON Farmers To Second Annual Farm Conference
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Hare KrishnaBy Madhava Smullen

Themed “Back to the Basics,” the aim of the conference is not only to discuss the big picture end result; but also to provide practical first steps and a support network for those who feel inspired to carry out Prabhupada’s instructions on simple living, yet lack the experience or knowledge. ECO-V General Manager Ranaka Das, who has served at New Vrindaban for over forty years, will give participants a tour of the cow protection facilities along with a history of New Vrindaban’s cow protection program – the first in the Western World.

UDGAAR -An Expression of Goodness and Joy
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Hare KrishnaBy ISKCON YOUTH FORUM Delhi

Udgaar is a youth festival organized by ISKCON Youth Forum, Delhi at regular intervals for inspiring the youths to develop the natural goodness of the heart and persuade them to share it with others. The festival witnessed participation of more than 500 youths from different nook and corner of Delhi-NCR. The festival was presided by many dignitaries like R.P. Singh, BJP national secretary, Gopal Krishna Aggrawal, BJP Spokesperson and others. The festival started with video show and melodious kirtans by devotees which mesmerized the youths assembled. After this exuberant and spiritually enlivening opening, the chief guests performed the Lamp-lightening ceremony in accordance with the Vedic aphorism “Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamya”. This was followed by a seminar on the topic” Transcendental Transformers” by HG Amogha Lila Pr, Vice President ISKCON Dwarka and visiting faculty in IIM Ahamdabad and IIT Patna. He spell bound the youths present with his pragmatic and logical presentation of Krishna Consciousness. The seminar was followed by events like drama, rock show and sumptuous prasadam which helped the audience to relish the variety of Krishna Consciousness in a most pleasing and palatable manner.

Becoming Instruments for Mahaprabhu’s Mercy; A Blissful and Productive Weekend for ISKCON Brooklyn
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Hare KrishnaBy Vaishnava Das

On Sunday, August 27th, a beautiful sunny day in New York City, congregation members of the ISKCON Brooklyn Hare Krishna temple and other sangas gathered in Tompkins Square Park for a Community Picnic. The day started off with HH Chandrasekhar Swami leading an upbeat kirtan in the north end of the park. The mrdanga, karatalas and chanting could be heard from outside the park, even from the south side- even though a large Jazz festival was getting ready for their afternoon program, and we had no amplification! A large group of devotees had already gathered and were chanting when HH Bhakti Charu Swami and HG Hansarupa das arrived, and the kirtan’s momentum picked up.

Why Does God Let us Suffer?
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Hare KrishnaBy Krishna Dharma Dasa

This question has probably caused more people to lose their faith than anything else. Why does God sit peacefully in his cloud or wherever, feet up and smoking his pipe, while we suffer all kinds of grim miseries down here on earth? The best answers we can usually manage are: a) He can’t do anything about it, b) He is mean and nasty, or c) He is not there at all. Obviously these three conclusions mean our faith is gone or as good as gone. So are there any other answers? In my short book “Why Me?”, I explore this question. Mainly based upon the Bhagavad-gita, I try to find an answer that leaves us believing in a good and indeed almighty God (who doesn’t smoke a pipe:). I also look at a number of other traditions and secular philosophies to see what they have to say on the matter.

Lokanath Swami urges Temple and Center Representatives to participate in the World Holy Name Week
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Hare KrishnaBy Bhaktin Diksha

“We would like to see this develop as a marathon,” says HH Lokanath Swami. “We want everyone’s participation. From GBCs to ABCs, everybody must be a part of this endeavour which glorifies the Holy Name and glorifies Srila Prabhupada – the one who shared this gift with the world at large.” This year also marks the centurial anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the USA. Therefore, this year’s theme is called ‘Srila Prabhupada’s gift to the world’. For this event, the team has invited coordinators from all the temples and centres across the world to hold programs like japa marathons, harinams, seminars on the Holy Name and Nagar Sankirtans.