Author Archives: Dandavats

By Hari Narayana Das

The organizers of the Ratha Yatra committee would like to offer their obeisances to His Holiness Kavicandra Swami and His Holiness Ramai Swami, the GBCs for Indonesia. We are grateful for their support and for constantly guiding us in pushing forward Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtan movement. We are extremely grateful to His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaj who has been inspiring us to explore new frontiers in preaching and performing this Jagannath Ratha Yatra in every city in Indonesia for the pleasure of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. We thank His Holiness Atmanivedana Swami for attending this event and inspiring the devotees. We offer our respects to His Grace Samudrasena das the leader of ISKCON Batam for helping to make this festival a success. Last but not least we thank Sesa das and Rasikananada das for their melodious singing which attracted all.

By Krishna-kripa Das

At Krishna House we had an end of the semester party with appreciations of the devotees and some humorous entertainment, and I share some of the parts most striking to me. I was part of our kirtana team at inspiring deity welcoming ceremony in Tallahassee that brought a lot of people together chanting Hare Krishna. “In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 7.23)

By Sankirtana Das

Once there was a sage who lived by the banks of the Ganges River. The sage spent much of his time in meditation and he understood the difference between that which is ‘sat’ (eternal) and that which is ‘asat’ (temporary). Now he was destined to live until all the hairs on his body fell off. He is described as a ‘hairy’ sage. And only a single hair fell off during a life time of Brahma (which is millions upon millions of years). So this sage was going to live for an awfully long time. One day he was asked, “Why don’t you build yourself a nice home?” The sage replied, “Why should I bother? I’m only here temporarily.”

By Jatayu dasa Learning to appreciate the devotees is a Vaisnava etiquette that helps us in our quest for purification, especially the appreciation of senior devotees. I have always been slow to understand this but as time passed I began to develop a…

By Zayani Bhatt

Devotees from temples across the UK congregated at Bhaktivedanta Manor on Saturday 9th January to celebrate the success of the Srila Prabhupada Book Distribution Marathon, which ran for a month from 21st November to 25th December 2015. Known as the Sankirtan festival, the event was the culmination of the hard work put in by the UK temples, in sharing Krishna Consciousness in the form of Srila Prabhupada’s books with new audiences. Led by Visvambhara Prabhu, a long term advocate of book distribution, devotees celebrated the numbers of books that various individuals, groups and whole temples had distributed and the donations that had been collected. Those who were within the top 50 for distributing most books were given a small token of appreciation from senior devotees HH Dayanand Maharaj, Kripamoya Prabhu, Dhananjaya Prabhu and Praghosa Prabhu to celebrate their success and hard work, as well as to encourage others to partake in the next marathon at the end of this year. Despite being one of the eldest devotees present, HH Dayanand Maharaj continues to distribute books today, having started in 1984. As he explained; “Book distribution is the best service. It is most enlivening.”

By Urmila Devi Dasi

Can one find happiness in this world? For most of us what we call “happiness” is the temporary mitigation of distress, or sadness. Without sadness, there is practically no meaning to happiness in a material conception of life. First, all that we term “happiness” depends on some sort of prior suffering. We enjoy eating because we feel the pain of hunger; without any hunger or appetite, eating will bring us no pleasure, no matter how tasty and well prepared the food. We find pleasure in sleep due to the distress of fatigue; a child who isn’t tired will be told to “go to bed” as a punishment–not a reward. Sex is pleasurable because of the urgency of lust. Those who wish to increase their sexual pleasure therefore also desire to increase their lust. On the emotional level as well, company is meaningful when we have experienced loneliness. If we examine any type of material pleasure, we will find that the experience is enjoyable only in proportion to the amount of pain it alleviates. If there is no prior pain, the so-called pleasure will be meaningless or even perceived as distress also. On a full stomach, more food is painful, and to a well-rested person time in bed is an irritation. “Happiness” can therefore be defined as the temporary absence or mitigation of pain.

By Indradyumna Swami

As a devotee grows older, he becomes more and more aware, by the grace of the Lord, that his life is coming to a close and his time to achieve perfection in Krsna consciousness is running out. Sometimes the signs come in disconcerting ways. A few months ago several of my disciples approached me and asked if I would tell the history of each of the salagram silas on my altar. “Perhaps another day,” I replied. “But Guru Maharaja,” said a woman disciple, “you’re the only one who knows the unique story behind each sila. And you’re getting older … ” She didn’t finish the sentence. There was no need. Old age implies that things are winding down and coming to an end.

By Sutapa Das

To commemorate this great event and following on the lines of Sankirtana movement, ISKCON Mangalore celebrated ISKCON’S Golden Jubilee festival in 2 broad realms: Kirtan festival : At Panambur beach, Mangalore on January 3rd, 2016 in midst of mother nature and blessings of many senior Vaishnavas. The program was graced by His Holiness Indradyumna Swami(USA), HG Haripada Prabhuji and his good wife HG Phalini mataji(USA), HG Ekalavya prabhu, HG Patri prabhu(Russia) and many other devotees. Hundreds of devotees and thousands of visitors relished the mesmerizing and sublime chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

By Subhangi Devi Dasi I will tell you how I found out about it, and this story is a classic example of the dreadful reality faced by all the suffering souls of this material world. It also shows clearly what Srila Prabhupad has saved us from and why we…

By Satyaraja Dasa Since we don’t hear of a demon named Madhu in Krishna’s pastimes, why does Arjuna address Krishna as “the killer of Madhu”?Madhusudana. The name always seemed curious to me. Where did it come from? In the Bhagavad-gita, one of our mos…

ISKCON New Vrindaban: Serving as one of the farm hands at New Vrindaban since the early days, Madhava Gosh spent decades of his life gardening and working on simple living projects.

By Bhakti Purusottama Swami

This year 2016 is a very special year for all of us, Srila Prabhupada’s followers. We are celebrating the 50th anniversary , the silver jubilee of ISKCON this year. Iskcon took birth in 1966 and has just reached the 50th year of its manifestation on the earthly planet. Devotees all over the world are preparing to hold many celebrations for this 50th anniversary of ISKCON. In Mayapur, which has been considered by Srila Prabhupada as a place of worship, ISKCON is going to hold a grand celebration during the 2016 Gour Purnima festival in the presence of thousands of devotees from around the world who will come to worship Lord Gouranga. We have a very special and unique plan to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of ISKCON in a great vedic manner. There are several programs which will be the highlights of this year’s Goura Purnima festival. The most important one will be the special abhishek of Lord Gouranga with golden lotuses.

By Mahatma das Fault finding is natural for the conditioned soul. We don’t have to learn how to do it or take training to get better at it. In fact, for many people it is an addiction which gives them some form of perverted pleasure. We could call this…

By Janananda Gosvami A Revolution? The solution. Let’s make a resolution! So what’s your solution? A simple formula. What did Srila Prabhupada himself follow on with in Mayapura in 76. What did Srila Prabhupada request as medicine in his last days. “Am…

By Abeer Saha Yoga is a state of existence that can be practiced in love, in work, in wisdom, in meditation, in happiness, and even in weakness and despair. Some teachers even insist that yoga is better practiced from a place of suffering, because life…

By Gour Govinda Swami

During his childhood, Sri Jiva Gosvami only enacted the pastimes of Sri Krsna and Balarama. He did not play any other games. He had very nice deities of Krsna and Balarama. Every day he was decorating them, doing srngara, offering worship, offering bhoga and, with concentrated attention, without even blinking his eyes, he would look at the beautiful form of Krsna and offer dandavat pranama to Him. While he was studying, he was thinking of Sri Sri Gaura and Nitai. Once, at night he saw in a dream that Gaura and Nitai are Sri Krsna and Sri Balarama. The wonderfully merciful Sri Gaura and Nitai gave some dust from their lotus feet to Jiva Gosvami. They gave him their blessings and then disappeared. Then his dream broke and he woke up. Then he thought, “Oh, when shall I leave this material world, cut off this material bondage, and completely be engaged in the service of Sriman Mahaprabhu?”

By Jayram Das

The Supreme Lord is sat-cit-ananda, the embodiment of eternity, bliss and knowledge and the devotees also derive the same bliss by dint of their constantly remaining engaged in the service of the Lord. His Holiness Subhag Maharaj visited Bishor Pasa, a village in Netrakona district accessible mostly by riverways or by motorcycles via country roads, four years back where he had inspired family to take practice Krishna Consciousness seriously so that others may also follow their footsteps. The same family, having taken initiation from Maharaj in 2013, now constructed a temple for Gaura Nitai in their courtyard…without expecting the least that Maharaj would come to install the deities. Actually there were no deities at all in the first place and no prior arrangements to receive the devotees. Somehow everything got arranged at the last moment. Jayram Prabhu, the leader at ISKCON Netrakona, had a set of Gaura Nitai Deities meant for somebody else and the same were hijacked to Bishor Pasa.

By Tamohara das

This is a very important service that oversees our International efforts to protect children. The Director oversees development and implementation of training and educational programs for our temples and devotees throughout the world. Additional responsibilities include oversight and case management of adjudications within our Society of child abuse allegations. A complete list of service responsibilities is given at the end. The ideal candidate would have some experience in education, counseling, or law relevant to child protection. One must also be effective in managing the office, and have excellent communication skills.

By Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami What makes Bg. 2.40 so encouraging is that Krishna recognizes our difficulty. He both prescribes a gradual path and presents us with information about the tremendous benefit that can accrue to us if we simply endeavor to prac…

By His Divine Grace Srila A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada The first thing is that bhagavan uvaca. These things required for purification. Sattva-samsuddhih. The human life is meant for sattva. Sattva. Sattva means existence. We are existing. I am existing; you…

By Devaprastha dasa

What is fear? Where does it come from? How can we learn to live a life without it? Srila Prabhupada taught that the essential cause of fear and anxiety is a lack of understanding of the nature of reality − our attachments and perceived loss which occur in the mind are actually illusory. A person who learns this begins to be free from unnecessary mental anguish. So fearless was Srila Prabhupada that, at age 69, he begged a passage on a steamship to the United States of America. Despite suffering two heart attacks during the journey, he arrived in Boston harbour full of optimism that he would be successful.

Rasikananda Das: The controversy created regarding female gurus is artificial due to insufficient knowledge of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions.

By Haripada Dasa Once during the rasa dance, when Radharani left the arena and Krishna went to seek Her out, one of the dear friends of Radharani addressed Krishna thus: “My dear Krishna, You have been very much obliging in serving the form of our Sri …

By Kesava Krsna dasa

If we look back at our disciplic succession we will find unlikely leaders and acaryas who may not fit our modern day portrayal of leadership as required by Iskcon. Our largely vaidhi and sadhana based lifestyle would probably not accommodate them. If we take Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji Maharaja for instance, would he fit in comfortably into one of our temples as a leader? He isn’t just a leader, but an acarya recognizable by those possessed of pure spiritual vision. Yet his penchant for seclusion, constant chanting and avadhuta behavior may not endear him very much to those who see with external vision. In fact, hardly anyone would recognize his true worth, and his apparently unproductive contribution to the temple may result in his sadly being asked to leave the temple.

By Gunagrahi das Goswami

Throughout the years we have all sought natural cures for many of the illnesses we have had. In doing so, at times we have met with great difficulty trying to decipher which of the cures would actually be effective, often spending an undue amount of time in research or experimentation, even failing in the end. With the blessings of HH Prahladananda Swami, ISKCON’s Minister of Health, we are beginning a website called “Cures That Work.” It will consist of personal testimonials from devotees who have been successful in treating their illnesses or others’ effectively with natural remedies. If you or an acquaintance from any walk of life would like to submit an account, we encourage you to do so. Please include as many details as possible. Upon acceptance, your submission will be posted on the site as soon as we are up and running, which we hope will be by the end of January. The testimonials should be in English and include your name and also permission for further contact if you are agreeable to being reached by those who seek more information.

By Kavicandra Swami

Concern for the environment is considered by many to be very high, even spiritual, consciousness. As devotees we may not realize our responsibility for the current problems nor understand what we can do about it. Are we peforming the sankirtan yajna enough? In these days of drought, people can gain relief from scarcity of rain and food by the simple method of the Hare Krsna yajna. Indeed, this can relieve all of human society. At present there are droughts throughout Europe and America, and people are suffering, but if people take this Krsna consciousness movement seriously, if they stop their sinful activities and chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, all their problems will be solved without difficulty.

By Carucandra Dasa.

Experience the story of Lord Narasimha as you have never seen it before. This 84 page, full-color graphic novel will guide readers on a unique journey through a visually stunning narration of the pastime of Lord Narasimha. See how the story unfolds in this captivating presentation of this timeless classic of good versus evil and poetic justice. This year, Mayapur will host it’s third International Leadership Sanga (ILS) from February 24-March 2, 2016 and ISKCON leaders from around the world will gather to take advantage of each others’ realizations, experiences, etc. For those of you who will be attending the ILS, please consider gauging an interest for this book in your region so that you can bring sufficient copies back to your area. For those who will not be attending, contact your local temple representative to find out if they can bring back copies for you when they return from Mayapur.

By Chaitanya Charan das Draupadi. Her admirable character is revealed in the most humiliating incident of her life – her disrobing by the wicked Dushasana. Though victimized in body, she refuses to be victimized in her heart. Her exceptional character …

By Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura “The word ‘envy’ is applied in many places and is used in connection to various things – envy of another’s good fortune, being disturbed at seeing the wealth of others, displeasure and jealousy etc. are some of the various…

By Damodara Dasa Indra once became captivated by the superior facilities for sense gratification available on his heavenly planet, and therefore when his spiritual master, Brhaspati, the guru of the demigods, scolded him, Indra acted offensively toward…

By Hari Narayana Das

Banyuwangi is located in East Java and also known as ‘The Gate of Java’ and the ‘Festive City’. There is always some sort of event taking place, whether it be cultural parades, fashion shows or water sports. The oldest and most popular festival in Banyuwangi is known as ‘Kuwung,’ a public parade conducted by the Government. Visitors across Indonesia gather to participate in this festival. The annual parade took place on the 5th of December 2015. In Banyuwangi there is a small temple presided over by Their Lordships Sri Sri Krsna Balarama. When Subhag Swami Maharaj visited Banyuwangi earlier in 2015, he instructed the devotees to try and organize a Ratha Yatra festival.

By Madhava Smullen

There’s no doubt that protecting cows was very close to Srila Prabhupada’s heart. In a series of Back to Godhead magazine articles in the mid 1950s, he was already envisioning a community where residents lived a simple life and protected cows. Soon after registering ISKCON in New York in 1966, he began requesting his disciples to start a rural community, asking them to call it “ISKCON-Nagari or New Vrindaban.” And when Hayagriva Das, Kirtananda Swami and a handful of other devotees began New Vrindaban, ISKCON’s first farm, in 1968 in the hills of West Virginia, he urged them to keep cows and bulls there, and to maintain them comfortably throughout their natural lives as their proverbial mothers and fathers. The cow’s milk could be used to create all kinds of staple foods, and their dung dried and used as fuel, he explained. Bulls could pull plows to till the ground for food grains. Together, they offered the chance of a peaceful, self-sufficient life free from the modern world’s stressful rat race and favorable for advancing in Krishna consciousness.

Sudharma Devi: The topic will be discussed by the the NAEC in Houston next week and the GBC body during the Mayapur meetings in February.

By Kesava Krsna Dasa Many people in the world think they live only once. With only one life, how does this affect lives and society? How is a one-life concept going to affects ambitions, goals and outlook? There is one-life spirituality and multi-birt…

By Sri Krishna Purusottama Das

It turned out to be another historic event, with ISV devotees distributing thousands of books throughout the Bay area and dispatching them to other parts of North America. Book distribution occurred with much enthusiasm during practically all weekends of this MSF. Books were distributed at several Hari Nama performances in Palo Alto and San Francisco. Books were also distributed at different festivals like Govardhan Puja, Pumpkin festival, Cupertino Diwali mela, Pleasanton Diwali Mela, Green festival and Christmas in the park. Devotees also distributed books at ICC, Store to Store Sankirtan, Door to Door Sankirtan, Corporate Sankirtan, Motel Gita Sankirtan, Weekday Sankirtan and Kids Sankirtan. Special yagna was conducted on the day celebrating the Advent of Bhagavad Gita.

By Ambarisa das

Dear Donors and Friends of the TOVP Project in Sridham Mayapur, 2015 has been another banner year for the TOVP both for construction under the leadership of Sadbhuja prabhu, and fundraising under the leadership of Radha Jivan and Braja Vilas prabhus. Some of the construction highlights are as follows: Milestones Achieved – 2015 Rainwater pipes – complete Screening and waterproofing – phase 1 completion Screening and waterproofing – phase 2 started plastering 80% Sandstone – phase 1 – started GRC factory setup Kalash brackets Chatri ribs Utility floor column Kalash brackets Chatri ribs Chatri Kalash Electrical works begun Marble cladding begun

By Iskcon Bangladesh

After six years of hard struggle, patient effort, determination, heartfelt prayers and steady devotional service for the devotees of ISKCON, Netrokona-the grand opening took place on the 2nd January,2016. This marked the beginning of a new chapter for the ISKCON devotees in Bangladesh and especially for those in the Mymensingh Division. Netrakona Pouroshabha (Town of Netrakona) is an old municipal town, established in 1887 and is located only 40 kms away from the Mymensingh city (the headquarters for this division). ISKCON devotees started preaching in this town few years back and then in October, 2010 they started a small preaching center in a small rented place. In 2011 they did the first Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Netrokona town and it was a huge success. As the number of devotees in the community grew, the need for a permanent residence for Lord Jagannatha, Baladev, Subhadra and Sudarshan became increasingly evident. The devotees began looking for suitable land nearby and when H.H. Subhag Swami went to Netrokona in 2012, he gave his blessings for one land adjacent to the preaching center.