Planet ISKCON

Steve Buys the Books

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 25 July 2016, Swiss Summer Camp, Switzerland, Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.1-2)

Uddhava is very broadly described in our scriptures. Uddhava was a devotee of the Lord from his childhood. Advanced souls get the chance to take birth in a devotee family; the liberated soul never forgets Krsna. Vidura is actually Yamaraj who had been cursed to be born as a sudra. When Vidura met Uddhava and inquired about Krsna, Uddhava would get overwhelmed.

Uddhava mentioned that Krsna had just left Vrindavan recently and is in Mathura. He had already killed the elephant and popped-out Chanura’s eyes. Krsna had “accidentally” killed Kamsa too! He wanted to kick-off Kamsa’s crown but Kamsa died from falling. Then they forced Krsna to become the ruler of Mathura.

Nanda Maharaj asked Krsna to come home to Vrindavan. Krsna told him that the Yadus would insist that he stay and not leave again thus Krsna wanted to send a messenger to Vrindavan. Uddhava was the only suitable one to send as a messenger as they were best friends.

Uddhava and Krsna had a secret language because Uddhava spoke such a difficult language that only Krsna could understand. Uddhava spoke the Bhagavatam in 100 000 verses in the heavenly planets. In the heavenly planets, the level of Vedic knowledge exceeds ours. Bhaktivinoda Thakur explained that only 6% of Vedic culture was existing and many years have passed since he said that.

But ultimately, we don’t depend so much on all other scripture because we have the essence in the Srimad Bhagavatam therefore we are not missing out. Almost all that is inauspicious in the heart will be destroyed by reading the Bhagavatam. But why not ALL inauspiciousness? There is one complication which is that as one gets learned, one may get proud! Pride is the one thing that will not be removed by reading Bhagavatam BUT when we chant japa, pride is destroyed!

In kirtan one may still get really proud, “I’m feeling bhava or ruci!” but while chanting japa no one feels bhava. (Laughter!) We realize that we do not have taste yet as we do not chant in ecstasy. Therefore, we need the mercy of vaisnavas!

So why was Uddhava chosen as the messenger? He was well learned because he was educated by Brihaspati and Uddhava looked almost the same as Krsna, especially from a distance. When Uddhava got to Vrindavan and said to the gopis, “Krsna is everywhere, why are you lamenting?” he was able to generate some faith in the gopis because Uddhava looked so much like Krsna, and because he knew Krsna’s heart.

Uddhava was the most intimate associate of Krsna outside of Vrindavan. Rohini is in the Vrindavan and Dvaraka pastimes, and so is Balarama, therefore Krsna got them to bless Uddhava because if one wants to go to Vraja one needs the blessings of one who has access. One cannot go to Vrindavan by mundane transport. Uddhava saw Krsna in every tree on the way to Vrindavan – uddipan, how things remind us of Krsna.

Krsna is all pervading but so what, the residents of Vrindavan still want personal exchange. They do not care about philosophy; only personal association matters to them. Uddhava could not understand the mood of the residents of Vrindavan.

Back to Vidura now. Vidura saw that Uddhava as an extraordinary devotee. Krsna was supposed to meet Duryodhan to discuss and try to avoid the war. He was invited to the big palace but he stayed at Vidura’s place because he could not stay at the place of one who was envious of the Pandava’s. How exalted Uddhava and Vidura are! And how far away we are… Uddhava was praying to be a blade of grass at Kusum Sarovar. We consider Uddhava as a prototype and we follow in his footsteps.

*Notes taken by Nimai during the lecture

“Wherever you go and whoever you meet, just tell them about Krishna, and in that way, by Lord Chaitanya’s order, become a guru.”
Vaiyasaki das: On our way back driving through the Himalayas, we passed an apiary with beehives, and, knowing that Prabhupada was in Vrindavan, we thought, “Wow, wouldn’t that be great to get Prabhupada some real Himalayan honey?”

Villa Vrindavan, in Italy, almost looks too old to have a future, but the humble devotees there are confident it will. ISKCON’s oldest building probably, the villa is four centuries old. Naturally, not everything works. A sunken semicircular fountain does not spout. The front roof nobly displays a stopped clock; the bell over it no longer chimes times. When devotees moved in with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, putting their faith in the Lord’s names and graces they named the hundred-and-twenty-acre estate after India’s transcendent village where Krishna enacted a humanlike childhood. How and why is the project now moving ahead? Continue reading "Villa Vrindavan: Krishna’s Home in Tuscany
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ISKCON Chandigarh celebrated ISKCON Incorporation Week from 11th July to 17th July 2016. From 11th to 17th July we had regular glorification of Srila Prabhupada during Bhagavatam class. In addition to that during Sunday festival program on 17th July evening many senior devotees glorified Srila Prabhupada and a drama named “Swamiji at Sea” was staged. Continue reading "ISKCON Incorporation Week by ISKCON Chandigarh
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The post Congratulations!!!! appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE?
Interviewer: Do you think most of the Hare Krishna members will participate in the election in November? Do you think they will register and vote?
Prabhupada: Personally I never give votes.
Interviewer: Will they follow your example and not vote?
Prabhupada: I do not know, but our principle is that I vote for this man or that man if there is some spiritual benefit. That is our point. (Interview with the religion editor of the Associated Press in New York, 16 July 1976)
I have never given vote. Since we have got this sva-raj, Indian independence, as soon as the vote question comes up, I go away. I think, “Why shall I give this nonsense person my vote? None of them are liked by me.” So I avoid it. I don’t believe in it.
(Room Conversation in Bombay, 8 January 1977)

Marvelous Mridanga Performance by Young Players of ISKCON Mumbai (8 min video)
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Srila Prabhupada: Keep your health in good condition and work very hard for Krishna. That is our motto of life. Letter to Rayarama, March 6, 1969.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/tQ0XUH

The post Daily Darshan: July 26th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Though since childhood, I was used to being called “gopi” by my classmates and coworkers as my surname had been “Gope”, however, that never made me uncomfortable. I knew those karmi people did not have any clue what they were referring to. But my devotee girlfriends surely know what they are talking about. Or do they? To my surprise, I found out that it has become quite common among young ladies in ISKCON to call each other gopi, even call each other Srimati Radharani! I was in a dilemma. Is it offensive or trivial to call another devotee girl gopi? At first, I thought, may be it is not as bad as I am thinking. Since “without the help of the gopis, one cannot enter into these pastimes. Only one who worships the Lord in the ecstasy of the gopis, following in their footsteps, can engage in the service of S'ri S'ri Radha-Krishnain the bushes of Vrindavana. Only then can one understand the conjugal love between Radha and Krishna. There is no other procedure for understanding." CC Madhya 8.204-205 Continue reading "Call Each Other Gopi?
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Gita verse-by-verse podcast

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The post Gita 10.31 – The power of powerful weapons and warriors points to Krishna appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Has this ever happened to you? You are merrily editing your SilverStripe website, working on a large update to one of your pages. You finish your update, hit “save & publish” and walk away, thinking you did a great job. Then your boss phones and asks why the update isn’t live yet. At this point you are confused, thinking: “I could have sworn I hit that ‘save & publish’ button.” You log in to the CMS and your update is gone!

After much investigating, it turns out your co-worker Edith Concurrent was editing pages at the same time that you were, and she corrected a minor typo on the same page that you were working on, overwriting your changes.

How do you prevent that kind of thing happening? Well, now there is a solution. I've created a new SilverStripe module: Install the Multi-User Editing Alert module!

Once installed, you will see blue dots in the page tree showing you who is editing at the same time that you are. If you see a red dot that is a conflict where multiple people are on the same page. It’s up to you to use your favourite communication tool to talk to your colleague and discuss who should be editing and saving changes.

As simple as that.

The module works by pinging the server every few seconds with the page that you are currently editing. It also downloads the location of every other content editor in the same API call. To prevent the ping taxing server resources, I’ve made it run in under 150ms. Indeed, most of that time is SilverStripe overhead, the code itself runs in just 12ms.

How does it work so quickly, you ask? It doesn’t use a database—that’s how. It uses the SS_Cache on the local filesystem, or DynamicDB, if you are running on SilverStripe Platform, to save the current state of all editors.

Note: there are still database queries to verify your logged-in state, so can’t run entirely without accessing the database, unfortunately. Also, running a flush clears all the state, if something were to go horribly wrong with the module.

The view of who is editing where updates dynamically as people move around, so you don’t need to refresh the page to see an updated view. Also, all the parties involved in an editing conflict see the alert, if there is a conflict.

You can control the ping frequency with the SilverStripe config system. So, if you have thousands of people editing your site concurrently, then perhaps increase the length of time between each ping to prevent your server crashing. Also, if you are the only person editing at a given point in time, the default ping frequency goes from 3 seconds to 24 seconds to save some server resources. Though again, you can easily adjust these values to anything you like.

If someone logs out, or their browser crashes, the module removes them from the editing alert after 70 seconds of not hearing from them. Naturally, you can modify this timeout period using the config system.

Final extra bonus: the blue and red dots are SVG files that look beautiful zoomed-in on a retina display.

The multiuser-editing-alert module merely alerts you to other’s presence, it doesn’t lock anyone out of editing. If you want to lock users out from editing concurrently, then you can install the Edit Lock module instead. 

Or even install both at the same time, as the two modules play nicely together.

Has this ever happened to you? You are merrily editing your SilverStripe website, working on a large update to one of your pages. You finish your update, hit “save & publish” and walk away, thinking you did a great job. Then your boss phones and asks why the update isn’t live yet. At this point you are confused, thinking: “I could have sworn I hit that ‘save & publish’ button.” You log in to the CMS and your update is gone!

After much investigating, it turns out your co-worker Edith Concurrent was editing pages at the same time that you were, and she corrected a minor typo on the same page that you were working on, overwriting your changes.

How do you prevent that kind of thing happening? Well, now there is a solution. I've created a new SilverStripe module: Install the Multi-User Editing Alert module!

Once installed, you will see blue dots in the page tree showing you who is editing at the same time that you are. If you see a red dot that is a conflict where multiple people are on the same page. It’s up to you to use your favourite communication tool to talk to your colleague and discuss who should be editing and saving changes.

As simple as that.

The module works by pinging the server every few seconds with the page that you are currently editing. It also downloads the location of every other content editor in the same API call. To prevent the ping taxing server resources, I’ve made it run in under 150ms. Indeed, most of that time is SilverStripe overhead, the code itself runs in just 12ms.

How does it work so quickly, you ask? It doesn’t use a database—that’s how. It uses the SS_Cache on the local filesystem, or DynamicDB, if you are running on SilverStripe Platform, to save the current state of all editors.

Note: there are still database queries to verify your logged-in state, so can’t run entirely without accessing the database, unfortunately. Also, running a flush clears all the state, if something were to go horribly wrong with the module.

The view of who is editing where updates dynamically as people move around, so you don’t need to refresh the page to see an updated view. Also, all the parties involved in an editing conflict see the alert, if there is a conflict.

You can control the ping frequency with the SilverStripe config system. So, if you have thousands of people editing your site concurrently, then perhaps increase the length of time between each ping to prevent your server crashing. Also, if you are the only person editing at a given point in time, the default ping frequency goes from 3 seconds to 24 seconds to save some server resources. Though again, you can easily adjust these values to anything you like.

If someone logs out, or their browser crashes, the module removes them from the editing alert after 70 seconds of not hearing from them. Naturally, you can modify this timeout period using the config system.

Final extra bonus: the blue and red dots are SVG files that look beautiful zoomed-in on a retina display.

The multiuser-editing-alert module merely alerts you to other’s presence, it doesn’t lock anyone out of editing. If you want to lock users out from editing concurrently, then you can install the Edit Lock module instead. 

Or even install both at the same time, as the two modules play nicely together.

Chuck’s First Impressions of Swamiji

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 27 March 2016, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Lecture)

It is not desirable to worship out of fear… out of fear of the Lord or out of fear of reactions that may come. To be God-fearing is not advertised as a great ideal in our Krsna consciousness movement. Rather our aim is to serve Krsna out of love – to appreciate how Krsna is kind, how Krsna is merciful and how Krsna cares about all living beings. Not only are we concerned with our own little lives but we are concerned with the welfare of the world as a whole so let us see if we can contribute something to that. We remain connected to the greater plan of the Supreme Lord – we live a life of devotion, and we also care for the welfare of all other living beings so that they may also come to devotional service. 

The tussle between “freewill” and “destiny” has been primordial. Bhagavad-gita explains the wonderful attributes of the soul besides the minuteness of soul. It is just one ten-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair point in size.* The minute "freewill" of this super-micro soul has created so much of furore that there are 14 planetary systems and countless universes, and further sub- and sub to sub-systems to place everybody according to their "freewill"! So wonderful is freewill! This differentiating factor from non-living beings can make a heaven of hell or hell of heaven. It is therefore important that we learn to exercise it judiciously. It is because of this we are separated from the Lord. Though we are suffering because of misuse of freewill and are sentenced to serve our prison term in the bhuloka. At the same time bhuloka is also karmabhoomi, where we have the possibility of decision making (thus freewill) and accordingly designing the future body and destiny. Continue reading "Freewill of a Molecule
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A Book for a Body Builder.
Vijaya Dasa: I was distributing books at a university when I motioned for a student to come to my table. He came over, and I began explaining some of Krsna’s teachings in the Bhagavad-gita. He didn’t show much interest. From his bulging muscles, I could tell he lifted weights and worked out a lot. I said, “It’s good that you’re taking care of your body, but did you know that while we’re talking right now your body is dying? Every second you’re getting closer to death, and in a relatively short time your body will be dead. But you, the soul, will never die.”

The post Daily Darshan: July 25th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Here is the text from ‘Krishna’ Book, chapter 4, where, having being warned by Durga Devi that the child who will kill Kamsa has already taken birth, Kamsa is now repenting and is also trying to justify all his past sinful actions, putting them behind the bars, killing their children, etc., as will of providence. In these lines lie some very enlightening lessons for an aspiring devotee like my own self. “My dear sister Devaki-, you are so gentle and kind. Please excuse me—don’t be aggrieved by the death of your children, which I have caused. Actually this was not done by me, because all these are predestined activities. One has to act according to the predestined plan, even unwillingly. People misunderstand that with the end of the body the self dies, or they think that one can kill another living entity. All these misconceptions oblige one to accept the conditions of material existence. In other words, as long as one is not firmly convinced of the eternality of the soul, one is subjected to the tribulation of being killer and killed. My dear sister Devaki- and brother-in-law Vasudeva, kindly excuse the atrocities I have committed against you. I am very poor-hearted, and you are so great-hearted, so take compassion upon me and excuse me.” Continue reading "Conscious co-operator
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The post Matsya, Yuvaraja, and Visakha ask about the connection between gambling and speculation, Narada’s glorifying Krsna’s future deeds and ghosts appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Gita verse-by-verse podcast

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The post Gita 10.30 – God manifests as the godly among the ungodly appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Pashupati Devi Healing Fund.
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ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 06/26/2016

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes simple living, cow protection, engaging oxen, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON New Vrindaban.

Participating Directors: Anuttama, Bhima, Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka and Sri Tulasi Manjari

Participating Advisors: Jaya Krsna, Navin Shyam, Radha-Krishna, Vraja

Participating Managers: Mukunda, Nitaicandra

Recording Secretary: Jamuna Jivani

1. Village Association Liaison

WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes to support the development of a “local self-governing village” in New Vrindaban.

RESOLVED: The Board approves up to $5K to help pay for the cost of hiring a part time Village Association Liaison for one year, under the following terms:

• INV also commits a matching amount, up to $5K, in order to meet the full $10K request
• ECO-V receives a report after six months
• After one year, the pilot program will be reviewed
• Moving into the second year, the Village Association would be expected to contribute to the Liaison’s salary, up to one third of the total

2. Mukunda’s Monthly Report

Mukunda has reported on the previous month’s projects:

• Mukunda worked with a crew to clean up the Community Garden and other areas used for Kulimela
• He has almost finished rebuilding the fence along the edge of the Community Garden that INV took down during construction of the new apartments

3. Nitaicandra’s Monthly Report

Nitaicandra reported on the previous month’s projects:

• Ox yokes have arrived. Caitanya Bhagavat and Nitaicandra have been working with Hari and Priya for about a week, and they have responded well, even after a long layoff, which Nitaicandra explained is due to the excellent training they previously received.
• Strawberries have been planted
• Vegetable starts have been planted out (tomatoes, peppers, okra, kerala, eggplant, and marigolds)
• Seeds have been directly planted (carrots, beets, radish, squash, beans, herbs, greens, cucumbers, salads, sunflowers, melons and amaranth)
• Cover crop has been a success so far: cooling the soil, attracting beneficials, discouraging pests, and outgrowing weeds.
• Heavy mulching has minimized weeding and held moisture during the long dry spells that we have recently experienced.
• Covering our young fruit trees with netting has protected them from the cicadas
• Some of our young trees are fruiting for the first time (apple, cherry, peach)
• Went on an educational paw paw tour with Soma prabhu
• Regular staff meetings have been going well
• Electric deer fence is not yet active

Anticipated projects for the upcoming month:

• An increase in flower production is anticipated and documentation will begin.
• Berry season is here. We will be collecting cultivated and wild types soon.
• Preparing and planting our large beds for our grain nursery. This year our grain production is for collecting seed for future use.
• Our other ox teams will resume their training in the next few weeks.

4. Internal Funding Request: $12K for Two Mowers

WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes to invest in equipment to support its ongoing farming-related projects.

RESOLVED: The Board approves up to $12K for the purchase of a brush hog and lawn mower.

5. Kulimela 2016 Review

Chaitanya Mangala expressed appreciation for the hard work the ECO-V staff contributed to help make it a successful event. The ECO-V members present at the meeting shared their impressions and feedback regarding the event. All thought it was overwhelmingly positive and agreed that New Vrindaban, and particularly INV, was showcased in a way that was well received by festival participants. The organizers reported they are finalizing the financial reports and once ready will provide those to INV & ECO-V as previously promised.

6. Regular ECO-V Staff Meetings

Mukunda reported that staff meetings began approximately one month ago on alternating Fridays from 10:30-11:30 am.  These meetings have been well-attended and are helping to create a more positive culture, as well as provide added support and improved communications between the individuals involved.

The illusion of enjoyment
Bhakti Charu Swami: “How is our existence in the material nature? Very beautiful, very wonderful. [laughter] Full of promises and full of excitement, full of opportunities. But that is the influence of the Lord’s illusory potency. We are suffering, but we consider this suffering condition to be joyful. The reality is this material existence is full of suffering. And the thing is, the more we try to enjoy, the more we end up suffering. Therefore, saintly people in the past, they used to voluntarily accept austerities, difficulties. Enjoyment leads to suffering, so now you reverse the process: voluntary acceptance of suffering will lead to enjoyment. But that is not actually the cure for the suffering condition. The suffering condition is threefold. What are the threefold miseries? Adhyatmika, adhidaivika and adhibhautika.

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Srila Prabhupada: Chanting the holy name is the chief means of attaining love of Godhead. This chanting or devotional service does not depend on any paraphernalia, nor on one’s having taken birth in a good family. By humility and meekness one attracts the attention of Krishna. That is the verdict of all the Vedas. (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 4.71 purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/nzvIyp

In a humble attempt to glorify Srila Prabhupada and the ISKCON movement on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, ISKCON, Navi Mumbai with the auspicious blessings of HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja and encouraging direction of the temple President, HG Sura Das Prabhu celebrated a week long festival. The festival was graced by the keen presence of HH Amiya Vilas Swami Maharaja. Wholeheartedly detailing and serving under the guidance of the HG Vaishnavanghri Sevak Prabhu (the Director of Bhaktivedanta College of Vedic Education, Navi Mumbai), the devotees of Sri Sri Radha Madanmohanji celebrated a seven day long festival making the atmosphere spiritually surcharging. Continue reading "ISKCON Navi Mumbai, India Commemorates 50 Glorious Years of ISKCON Incorporation
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Steve and Bruce