Author Archives: Dandavats

A Russian Krishnaite responds to allegations against ISKCON
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By Ajay Kamalakaran

The Russian Krishnaite said he respected the right of the Orthodox priest to have an opinion but felt the young man was misguided. “We have absolutely no political agenda of any kind. Even if we had 100,000 followers in Russia, could we possibly topple a government in a country of 140 million?” Das agreed that there were many followers from Western countries but insisted that these people merely sought salvation from the “vicious cycle of karma.” He said his guru told him about how some Western intelligence agents “penetrated the ranks of the movement,” but added that these were the exception and not the rule. “Russians, like Indians, strongly resist change and any idea that is considered new,” he said, “and that’s why there is suspicion against the movement.” Das said yoga was looked upon with suspicion a few decades ago in the country but now even stringent followers of the Orthodox faith practice the Indian system of physical and mental wellness. “It’s only matter of time before those who have misplaced fears understand that we’re not on some sort of political mission.”

Krishna’s Healthcare
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By Bhakta Jorge Camara

In 1967, Srila Prabhupada wrote to his disciple: “Be careful about your health first. This information is not only for you but all my noble sons. I am an old man. I may live or die it does not matter. But you must live for long time to push on this Krishna Consciousness movement.” Since time immemorial, human societies have championed Mother Nature’s therapeutic splendor as a reliable and sacred source of healthcare. Whether one is a spiritual dilettante or a vigorous meditator, it is important to be aware of the various health issues sprouting up during this iron age of Kali. By learning how to make conscious decisions about our material wellbeing we can avoid unnecessary disturbances and peacefully perform our spiritual practice.

Remembering Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami
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Hare KrishnaBy Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Goswami

When remembering Maharaj, we should meditate on his “golden years” of service and preaching in Malaysia. He was the only sannyas disciple of Srila Prabhupad from Malaysia. He was officially the president of ISKCON Malaysia since 1980. He was a great pioneer and early general in developing the preaching in Malaysia. Srila Prabhupad came to Malaysia in 1971, paving the way for Maharaj to develop the preaching. Maharaj was a major player in expanding Srila Prabhupad’s movement so nicely in Malaysia, crowned by the grand opening of the Penang octagonal temple attended by at least 10,000 guests. For India, that may not be such a large number, but for Malaysia that is huge. ISKCON Penang, with its beautiful deities Sri Sri Radha Krishna Kanhaiya, is certainly one of the grandest and now one of the most popular of “Hindu” temples in all of Malaysia.

Please do not leave!
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Hare KrishnaBy Yamuna Devi

So my sister bluntly expressed to Srila Prabhupada that she wanted to leave. She told him that “When you are here, everything is fine; but when you leave, everything becomes harder to deal with, especially the men, and I don’t want to do it.” I looked at Srila Prabhupada, whose eyes glistened with tears of love. I was also crying—we all were. With a combination of deep love and gravity, he said: Please do not leave. We have the best philosophy. You will not find a better philosophy in this world. There is nothing like the knowledge that we have in Krishna Consciousness. We have the best scriptures, like Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, The Nectar of Devotion and Caitanya-caritamrta.

Jagannatha Ratha Yatra and Yoga Festival, Batam, Indonesia
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Hare KrishnaBy Hari Narayana das

The Batam Devotees who did ratha yatra on December 11, 2016, was supported by Wajah Batam, a non-government organization in Batam, Indonesia. As Srila Prabhupada mentioned in his letter that “So all these variety shows will be so attractive with melodious musical sounds, and above all our good behavior and advanced Krishna consciousness will make this show very successful.” SPL to Haàsadüta, 4th March, 1968. A day before ratha yatra, in the field of Engku Putri field, the chariot team did preparation for the chariot. They worked tirelessly until midnight. Because of the rainfall, they skipped the work until the following morning. Arriving from Bali and Jakarta the devotees directly gave a hand to prepare the festival. They made garlands and assisted the chariot team to prepare the chariot.

When suddenly from nowhere the red monkeys came and conquered all
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Hare KrishnaBy Purushottam Nitai Das

Once during a meditation session a teacher decided to do an experiment. As soon as all his pupils assembled and sat in an erect posture with closed eyes waiting for his instruction, the teacher said, “I have a special instruction for you all today. For next one hour during the meditation session no one should think about the red monkey.” And suddenly from nowhere the red monkeys came, attacked and conquered everyone’s mind. For the next one hour all the participants whose eyes were still closed were utterly miserable because while meditating today they were seeing nothing but red monkeys. They tried their best to empty their minds of the thoughts of the red monkeys but the red monkeys were in each and every corner of their mind – sometimes jumping, sometimes dancing, sometimes laughing and sometimes silently watching all the fun.

Family Matters
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Hare KrishnaBy Matsyavatara das

Some will get married and some will not, some will have children and some will not. But also those who don’t get married and those who have already surpassed this phase of life will greatly benefit by knowing the basic dynamics, the rapport of weights and measures, the values of family life in the Vedic-Vaisnava civilization. In the past so much damage has been done by people—who had no positive experience in this area—who tried, disastrously, to handle the life of others. Therefore those directly involved in family life—as well as those who have to come in touch with those directly involved—should know about the fundamental principles and values on which family relations are based. To know such fundamentals of the grihastha asrama is an integral part of spiritual realization, not because it’s in itself something spiritual, but because it’s a social organization problematic to spiritual realization. Even those who renounce family life for a more elevated aim will always be in touch with those in family life. Directly or indirectly everyone is interested in family life, either because one is married, or because one plans to form a family, or because one has brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, or parents in family life. In this way this asrama is fundamental and is not completely avoidable even for those who desire to live as brahmacaris—a very noble commitment and intention.