Planet ISKCON

<iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmedia%2Fset%2F%3Fset%3Da.10206437181631302.1073742515.1321748113%26type%3D3&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”683″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowTransparency=”true”></iframe>

[avia_codeblock_placeholder uid="4"]

“I had a near-death experience nearly two decades ago,” spoke a Chinese lady professor who had approached me after my talk on “Science & Spirituality – Exploring near-death experiences” at the National University of Singapore. As a speaker who loves to answer questions after my talks, I train myself to expect the unexpected during the post-talk QAs. And yet the sheer unexpectedness of some questions periodically surprises me.

I had written and spoken about near-death experiences, but hadn’t met someone who had actually had one. I listened, intrigued, as she explained that some nineteen years ago, she had had a medical emergency. While she was lying unconscious, she had seen herself leave her body as an effulgent brown particle. The particle, that she understood was her, had floated into a river that went through an underground tunnel. When she had seen a log of wood floating nearby, moving atop it had taken her ashore. There, she had seen walking towards her two men – one elderly, one young. As they closed in on her, they had suddenly disappeared. Concluding that the next thing she remembered was waking up in a hospital bed, she asked what the experience meant.

I answered that more important than the specifics of what she saw was the implication of the overall experience – even when her body was unconscious, she was still conscious. Her continuing consciousness amidst bodily unconsciousness implied that her consciousness didn’t come from her body; but came from something beyond it – from something that continued to exist independent of her body. Exploring the identity of that non-material essence would be far more valuable and consequential than trying to decode the specifics of the experience. If the higher powers that had enabled her to have this special experience had deemed the specifics important, their meaning would have been revealed to her. Since no such meaning had been forthcoming for so long, it was reasonable to infer that the specifics were not all that important. What was much more important was the universal implication: she, at her core, was different from her body. The yoga tradition, and specifically the yoga masterpiece Bhagavad-gita, explained the identity and nature of that non-material essence. By reading the Gita, she could learn far more about herself than she could by trying to decrypt this experience’s specifics.

With a grateful smile, she replied that she felt relieved of an unexplained mystery that had burdened her for so many years.

Another kind of near-death experience

Later, as I reflected on this incident, I realized that I too had undergone a near-death experience – and fairly recently at that. I had missed death by a few minutes and a few meters. Of course, I was playing with words here. The term near-death experience has come to connote a specific kind of near-death experience: an experience of being conscious while being near death. I was using the word in its literal denotation: any experience when one is near death.

During the Brisbane leg of my Australia tour, I had gone for about twenty-four hours to New Govardhan, ISKCON’s farm community at Muruwillambah. The South Indian-sounding name reminded me that even in a modern Western country like Australia, there had been not so long ago natives whose culture bore many similarities to traditional Indian culture. While I was giving the afternoon Sunday feast class on the occasion of ISKCON’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations, I was suddenly told to stop because an electric pole had fallen nearby, cutting off power in the community. As live currents were going around in the vicinity of the fallen pole, security experts had ordered that the program be ended immediately and prasadam be served as soon as possible so that people could go home before it became dark. After I ended the class, I came to know that a live wire had fallen right on the car in which we had come. If we had been in that car when the wire fell, we might well have been electrocuted.

We spent the night without power – something I would have expected more in India than in Australia. As I journaled in torchlight, I noted that beneath the comfort and convenience of things in advanced countries remains the underlying universal truth: Material nature can assert her superiority over us humans anyplace, anytime, anyway.

Next morning, after I gave the Bhagavatam class, the devotees managed to tow out our car from the endangered area just in time for us to rush for our flight back to Melbourne.

Traveling in planes brings regular reminders that we are always close to death. The airline staff’s recitation of safety procedures highlights the danger that may befall us while we are comfortably seated in our flights.

 

 

Near death and paranoia

Of course, the awareness that we are near death is not meant to make us paranoid. I was asked a question on my website thespiritualscientist.com by a lady: “I have suffered from paranoia since childhood and have periodically needed medication to control it. After hearing an ISKCON class about how death can come any time, my paranoia shot up so much that my doctor had to increase my medicines manifold. He told me that hearing such classes is psychologically damaging and that I should stop hearing them. What should I do?”

As the subject was complex, I decided that it deserved not just a short answer, but a full class-length analysis. I got that opportunity in Perth during the Bhagavatam class as that day’s verse dealt with the theme of death. I explained that spiritual advancement comes not just by our focusing on a particular object of thought, but also by our changing our basic mode of thinking. How we think about anything, even death, depends on which mode of material nature we are in. If we are in the mode of ignorance, thinking about death can make us paranoid, paralyzed, psychologically damaged. If we are in passion, thinking about death can increase our enjoying mentality as we may feel that bodily pleasures will not be available in future. If we are in goodness, thinking about death can inspire us to seek life’s immortal side, thereby energizing our desire to devote ourselves to Krishna. We all need to intelligently choose things that are favorable to our bhakti and avoid things that are unfavorable. If thinking about death makes us paranoid, then we should see such thinking as unfavorable to our bhakti and avoid it. We can instead focus on thinking of Krishna and engaging in his service. The resulting purification will gradually raise us to goodness; then we will be able to think about death in a way that is favorable to our bhakti.

We always live near death, but we also live near Krishna – always. Realizing our proximity to death can make us paranoid, but realizing our proximity to Krishna makes us pacified and purified.

 

Lecture series highlights

 

I see myself more as an educator than as a crowd-puller, so I prefer to give a series of classes to the same audience at one place than to give several programs at different places to different audiences. Accordingly, the organizers of my Australia tour had arranged several lecture series for me. Among the around sixty talks that I gave in about forty days, nearly thirty of them were parts of a series.

 

Some of the series were:

 

1. “Holy name is everything” – Two-part series in Melbourne on the Kevalashtakam

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/06/holy-name-everything/

Though these talks were primarily for devotees, an Australian lady, who had been exploring various kinds of healing, happened to come to the temple on that day and attended my talk. Afterwards, she asked me whether chanting and healing were related. I explained how chanting brings about spiritual healing and how it can be seen as namo-therapy, therapy centered on nama, the holy name of Krishna.

2. “Devotion amidst persecution” – Three-part Gaur Lila series in Melbourne on the pastime of Chand Kazi’s deliverance

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/06/devotion-amidst-persecution-lord-chaitanya-delivers-chand-kazi/

I explained how our Gaudiya tradition had been born amidst circumstances far more aggressively hostile than what most of us face nowadays. When a Vaishnavi asked who had damaged Indian culture more – Muslims or Britishers – I answered that it was the Hindus. Because the brahmanas had been self-righteous and arrogant about their high-born status, they hadn’t cared about lower caste people getting converted. Because the kshatriyas had been complacent and contentious, they had kept fighting among themselves and failed to unite against external threats. In general, the more we take responsibility for our situation instead of playing victim, the more we can tangibly improve things.

3. Chatur Shloki Bhagavatam – Four-part series on Bhagavatam (2.9.33-36)

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/06/chatur-shloki-bhagavatam-four-part-series-bhagavatam-2-9-33-36/

Among all my lecture series, this was the most challenging and fulfilling because it gave me an opportunity to serve for the first time in my life the four verses that are the essence of the Bhagavatam. After a class, during prasad, I head several devotees laughing and discussing the class, specifically an example illustrating how the same Absolute Truth manifests as Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. If the Absolute Truth is compared to a delicacy like halva, the halva that is just smelt is Brahman; the halva that is smelt and seen is Paramatma; and the halva that is smelt, seen and tasted is Bhagavan.

4. Uddhava Gita nectar – Four-part series on Bhagavatam (11.12.10-13) at Sydney

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/06/uddhava-gita-nectar-four-part-series-bhagavatam-11-12-10-13-sydney/

These four verses are for me the sweetest in the whole Uddhava Gita. Herein, Krishna remembers the Vrajavasis, especially the gopis and their exalted love for him. After my second talk “Uddhava Gita nectar 2 – Love explained – Comparing materialist, Abrahamic, impersonalist and bhakti worldviews”, a Western Vaishnavi said that she was thrilled to understand how bhakti offers the deepest understanding and fulfillment for our longing to love and be loved.

5. Appreciating Gaudiya Vaishnavism – Three-part series at Sydney

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/06/appreciating-gaudiya-vaishnavism-three-part-series-sydney/

I spoke on the distinctive contributions of the Gaudiya tradition such as achintyabhedabheda, rasa and prema. After a talk, a devotee asked whether such subjects weren’t too exalted for today’s world. I agreed and added that still they are central to our tradition and need to be relished after due caution – if serious devotees in our movement don’t discuss and cherish them, we may unwittingly grant monopoly on our tradition’s core to other Gaudiya groups who explain that core.

6. Cultivating non-judgmental attitude – Three-part series at Brisbane on Bhagavatam (11.28.1-3)

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2016/06/cultivating-non-judgmental-attitude-three-part-series-brisbane-bhagavatam-11-28-1-3/

I explained in essence that our purpose shouldn’t be just to speak the truth, but to speak the truth in a way that attracts people to the truth, not alienates them from it. After my talk, a Vaishnavi, who is from a Shakta Bengali background, explained that my talk spoke for her. When she had come to the temple the first time and had seen matajis making garlands, she had joined them in threading flowers into garlands. A devotee had suddenly come there and asked her whether she ate meat. When she had nodded mutely, that devotee had grabbed the garland she was stringing and hurled it on the ground, shouting that she shouldn’t even touch the flowers to be offered to the Lord. She had left the temple, heartbroken, with tears in her eyes. To her credit, she came back when she met some other, more sensitive devotees – and is now an initiated devotee. She and her husband told the organizers of my talk that ISKCON outreach could reach many more people if devotees would stop being so judgmental towards newcomers and their initial beliefs.

 

To be continued in part 02

The post Near death experiences on the road (Part 01) (Reflections on 2016 Australia-Singapore trip) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

By Praghosa dasa

How can we always know that the decisions we take are the correct ones? That they are pleasing to both guru and Krishna?

Such questions are simultaneously easy, yet difficult to answer and even more difficult when it comes to practical application. One such area that falls into this category is when a senior devotee falls from the highest standard of spiritual practice and how our society deals with it.

In a simple sense once a devotee falls down then they are fallen, and while no vaisnava would wish to make their existence more difficult than it is, while fallen, they would have to be relieved of any responsible position or role.

But how to do that without disgracing the person involved and what was the example given to us by Srila Prabhupada in this regard?

In a general sense Prabhupada was very clear about this issue:

“In brahma-sukha one is no longer attracted by lusty desires. Indeed, when one is no longer disturbed, especially by lusty desires for sexual indulgence, he is fit to become a sannyasi. Otherwise, one should not accept the sannyasa order. If one accepts sannyasa at an immature stage, there is every possibility of his being attracted by women and lusty desires and thus again becoming a so-called grhastha or a victim of women. Such a person is most shameless, and he is called vantasi, or one who eats that which he has already vomited. He certainly leads a condemned life. In our Krsna consciousness movement it is advised, therefore, that the sannyasis and brahmacaris keep strictly aloof from the association of women so that there will be no chance of their falling down again as victims of lusty desires.” SB 7.15.37 Purport

So that is clear enough, if we take to the spiritual path and in particular if we enter the sannyasa asrama, then failure is not really an option, as it both discredits us, discredits the asrama and calls into serious question our motive and honour as far as entering this asrama in the first place.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out why the standards are so high. From a social and cultural point of view – all over the world – those in the religious/spiritual order of life are afforded so much respect. This respect is given on the basis of trust. So a rabbi in a Jewish community, a priest in a Christian community, an imam in a Muslim community or a sannyasi in Vaisnava community are automatically afforded so much reverence purely as a result of the dress they wear. Therefore if they do not live up to the basic standards required of that way of life they have voluntary accepted, then the mercy, or lack of it, awaits;

Prabhupada: “There is a temple, Tarakesvara, in Hoogli district. So Lord Siva… So people, I mean to say, pray that “If my this disease is cured or if I get this victory, I shall become a sannyasi for a month.” (laughs) So that system is going on. They become sannyasis for one month. There are hundreds and thousands. This is called “one month sannyasi” That is not mentioned in the sastra, but it has come into custom and if he returns, he is called vantasi, yes, “eating the vomit.” Conversation April 14th 1974

Notwithstanding the above it doesn’t necessarily follow that the best course of action is to publically expose every fallen sannyasi, particularly if their motive was not as shallow as mentioned in the above quote. In ISKCON’s case most, if not all sannyasis, enter this asrama with a sincere desire to help with Prabhupada’s mission of spreading Krsna consciousness. Prabhupada once said to be surprised at those that stay, not at those that leave, so it is hardly surprising that there are some casualties. Prabhupada both understood and dealt with this situation sensitively and very much practiced what he preached. What follows is Prabhupada’s reaction when he heard the news that Madhuvisa’s difficulties had become public within ISKCON.

“Pusta Krsna Maharaja spent a long time on the phone in the evening, informing all the temples in Madhudvisa’s zone on the East Coast that he has fallen and he is no longer the GBC. However, when he came in to report his actions to Srila Prabhupada, Prabhupada was angry. Prabhupada was made aware of the initial suspicions in Australia, but his idea had been to keep the affair quiet until he reached New York, where he could see Madhudvisa personally and attempt to clear everything up without a scandal. He wanted to save him, and he was upset that news of Madhudvisa’s falldown was now widespread. He rebuked Pusta Krsna. “Now you have made it impossible for him to return.”

He was also angry with Gurukrpa Swami. “That Gurukrpa! I told him not to tell anyone.” Although Prabhupada found no fault in Tamal Krishna’s approaching Madhudvisa because he had done it as a friend, he said that Gurukrpa had disobeyed him by discussing it with Tamal.” A Transcendental Diary Volume 2.

One thing that is interesting to note is that ISKCON’s current leaders do not have the same scope for following this example of Prabhupada’s. The dynamic surrounding this issue is the same so naturally the leaders want to follow the example of Prabhupada but often when they do they are charged with being in an ‘old boys club’ and engaged in a cover up! In the above example both Pusta Krsna and Gurukrpa are being rebuked by Prabhupada for doing the very thing that today’s leaders come under a lot of pressure to do – make everything public.

Some years ago one leader told me an interesting story that highlights this point. One of his senior managers/preachers in his area of responsibility was having some difficulty and had had a recent fall down. This leader, in consultation with a few senior god brothers, decided a course of action and rectification with the explicit aim of strengthening this devotees spiritual life and hopefully have him return to his regular duties as soon as it was clear that he had fully recovered from his difficulties. While the devotee involved was undergoing his rehabilitation, some news of his difficulties somehow became known to a few others. At this point these other devotees approached the leader dealing with the situation and asked him for clarification regarding the rumours. The leader concerned felt he now had to inform these devotees as they were also senior men. After explaining the situation these devotees expressed a little upset at the fact that they had not been informed earlier and felt that the leader concerned should have been more open and not just shared this situation with a couple of senior god brothers. The leader concerned expressed his difficulty in wanting to deal with the situation but not overly exposing it thus making it very difficult and humiliating for the devotee at the centre of it all. While they understood his motive the devotees still felt there was something of a ‘cover up’ involved. At that point the leader apologised for any shortcomings in his approach to this difficult situation and then asked the devotees what should be done now, should all the devotees of the yatra now be informed, given that all the leaders now know and also their expressed concern about not covering things up? The reaction of the devotees was quite interesting, notwithstanding their upset about initially not being informed of this issue, they now did not want it further publicised and felt (for all the same reasons that dictated the original course of action) that best, particularly for the devotee and the success of his rectification, that the yatra should not be informed. It was then pointed out to these devotees – have they now joined the ‘old boys club’ and are they now part of a cover up!

So this story is very revealing in so far as how on one level we all want to be very open and deal with things in a way that matches our desire for integrity, honesty, morality, duty and freedom from duality. On the other hand it shows how, when faced with specific situations, there are many other considerations that come into play and very much muddy the waters.

We learn the following from none other than Bhismadeva, who has an entire Parva of the Mahabharata, the Shanti Parva, dedicated to his instructions on morality. In addition Lord Krsna says of Bhisma:

“When that great man leaves (Bhisma), so all kinds of knowledge about morality and duty will leave with him. No one can deliver instructions comparable to his, not even Me.” Mahabharata – translation by Krishna Dharma das

So Bhisma is indeed as high an authority on the subject of morality as we will find, and here is what Bhisma said when directly asked by Draupadi about her plight after the gambling match:

“O blessed lady, knowing that one who has no wealth of his own cannot stake that belonging to others, but knowing also that wives are always at the command of their husbands, I am unable to answer the point you raised. The ways of morality are subtle. Yudhisthira can abandon the whole world full of wealth, but he will never sacrifice morality. The Pandava played with Sakuni even though he knew that no one could defeat him at dice. He has staked and lost both himself and you, O princess. Therefore I am confused upon this matter.” Mahabharata – translation by Krishna Dharma das

I guess at the very least these quotes convey that dealing with these kinds of matters is never easy, never black and white, hence the title of this piece ‘Krishna give us guidance, oh Lord we need that now”.

We can but do our best and ultimately, as we learn from sastra, the truth will be revealed according to time, place and circumstance and no doubt Krishna will reveal, in any given situation, what each individual needs to know and what is best for all concerned, in due course.

Your servant

Praghosa dasa

The post Daily Darshan: June 11, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

A historic day celebrating ISKCON's 50th anniversary with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who performed the ground breaking ceremony for Bhaktivedanta Manor's new Shri Krishna Haveli.

HH Radhanath Swami gifted his latest book “The Journey Within” to UK Prime Minister Mr. David Cameron yesterday at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, near London.

Podcast

​Bhagavatam class at Radha Kunjabihari Mandir, Pune

Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Austerity is meant to focus desire, not kill desire appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Prime Minister David Cameron at Bhaktivedanta Manor (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The Prime Minister of England, Mr. David Cameron, was ISKCON’s special guest yesterday at a groundbreaking ceremony for a large new complex on the property. He began his talk to a prestigious crowd of dignitaries and devotees with a resounding, “Hare Krishna!“ and went on to congratulate ISKCON by praising Srila Prabhupada on his creation of a "global mission.” It was a great milestone in the history of the British Yatra.
Find them below or here: https://goo.gl/zMSN94

https://youtu.be/kSHwN7HLtAE

The post Yesterday I went to Bhaktivedanta Manor for the day to observe the ground breaking ceremony of the new Haveli and meet the special guest appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Answer Podcast

Download by “right-click and save content”

The post When austerity is to be implemented, our resolve weakens – how to counter? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

Download by “right-click and save content”

The post ​How can we increase our austerities as did Dhruva? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

A conversation between His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami and Rohilesh Singh, Creator of the Happiness Platform.Have you sat back and thought about just how mentally healthy or unhealthy your workplace is and your life in general? Have you thought about what actually fulfils you or why despite all your accomplishments, you are still chasing some dream? What is that dream?

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, a monk for 40 years, is the incoming Chairman of ISKCON with over 600 temples, and has dedicated his whole adult life to selflessly serving his soul and that of others, shares with us ancient Vedic knowledge on what is important and how to attain sustained happiness.

Read the transcript below from The Leadership Show or Click and watch on YouTube or download from Soundcloud or iTunes. It’s free. Aren’t all the great things in life!

The Leadership Show – Happiness with His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami

Roh Singh:

This episode is a personal one, a journey which, initially started out as an interest and has since developed into part of my daily life, both personally and professionally.

The stresses in our lives are endless; Is there a way to control them and reduce their effect on our health and wellbeing?

I believe that all organisations should be moving away from not only looking after their employees safety and financial security but also towards their mental health.

Bhakti Charu SwamiOver the last 25 years I have studied and pondered many Hindu philosophies, which I believe contain answers to many of life’s questions.

Recently, I was given the honour of spending some time with His Holiness, Bhakti Charu Swami. Bhakti Charu is a spiritual master having dedicated over 40 years of his life to selfless duties within the ISKON organisation.

During our time together, we explore Hindu beliefs and understandings, how their applications can greatly help reduce one’s stresses, anxieties in our modern world.

Let’s explore these truths together, and discover some answers to happiness.

Bhakti Charu Swami
Everybody needs to work. Now the first consideration is, that one should be engaged in activities that he naturally likes to do. Like, one naturally has certain propensities, like say somebody likes to write poetry, somebody likes to make money, somebody likes to fight.

Now unfortunately what is happening in today’s world, the whole focus is unto money and making money, irrespective of whether you like it or not.

When I was young, everybody was going for engineering. Then a trend came, no engineering is not good enough, medical profession is more pay. So everybody wanted to become doctors. Then wanted to pursue the Information Technology.

Roh Singh:
Yes.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
See why? Because the consideration is, which occupation will bring me maximum amount of money. And one’s own consideration has been totally disregarded.

Say a person who likes to write poetry, you know, he’s ended up becoming a factory worker. He’s not getting a scope for that (becoming a poet). He is being driven to do things like, what ultimately will bring him the maximum amount of money.

And as a result of that, you know in today’s world practically everyone is dissatisfied. Even those who are working, everyone is thinking when will it be Friday. And I will get the weekend.

Roh Singh:
That’s true, that’s true.

Bhakti Charu Swami
They are simply trying to run away from what they are doing. So why do people,

Roh Singh:
Why do they continue, why do they?

Bhakti Charu Swami
Because of social structure has been designed in such a way. If you can’t earn money, then you won’t be able to pay your bills.

So, you know, everyone is forced to. Recently I was in Singapore, and you know it’s a beautiful structure, everything is so beautifully done, but I was told, in Singapore, practically everyone has to work from 10 to 12 hours just to maintain. In one hand they have made such a nice comfortable arrangement. But in order to fit into that arrangement, to stay in that arrangement you have to completely dedicate all of your time and effort.

Roh Singh
I see most of us live to pay bills, collect wealth, and accumulate possessions.

The results of which don’t deliver meaningful satisfaction. And causes stress and anxiety.

I spoke with His Holiness about issues around work, wealth, doing what you like to do In order to live a fulfilled life without stress and anxiety.

There are certain times in our lives when we feel absolutely, when we do things we feel brilliant about ourselves. Ok, and we like to talk about those traits that we display. Be the transcendental traits that we carry.

What are the traits that one should aspire to? Or one should make their own and which are the ones that we should be aware of, We will talk about that, in a moment and how to overcome that.

Bhakti Charu Swami
To achieve that, you know I will say that first we need to get rid of Six negative influences. Ok. Those negative influences are, Lust, Greed, Anger, Illusion, Pride and Envy.

So these are the enemies that are kind of attacking our hearts. Like, say for example, when you get angry, I mean how do you feel afterwards?

Roh Singh:
Exhausted actually.

Bhakti Charu Swami
Yeah, feeling miserable. You know, when we are envious of others, Our heart becomes, our heart shrinks. So we have to overcome these and cultivate the positive qualities. The qualities that broadens our hearts.

Generosity. Service to others. You know through Lust, we try to exploit others. Through Love, we try to serve others.

So we have to conquer Lust with Love. We have to conquer Greed with Compassion. Generosity. We have to conquer Anger by Affection for others. And you know feeling for others. And in this way, we can, you know, ultimate consideration is, actually Love.

Roh Singh:
You talked about False Ego. Can we talk a little bit more about that please, is that OK?

Bhakti Charu Swami:
The False Ego, you see, False means wrong. And Ego means the identity, my mistaken identity. I am a spirit soul. But I am thinking that this body is me.

And that perception or that attitude is you know, the False Ego.

The soul is eternal, full of knowledge, full of joy. But what we are doing is we are trying to get this spiritual needs, or spiritual requirements fulfilled through this material body. Which never happens.

Roh Singh:
So would you say it’s fair to say we are chasing the wrong knowledge?

Bhakti Charu Swami:
Oh, well I would say, we are chasing a mirage.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
In order to quench our thirst, OK. And that’s what is happening with us in this material nature. No matter whatever you are aspiring for, our heart is never content. Our heart never becomes satisfied. But you know, at that point say a traveler in the middle of the desert, lost his way and is running after a mirage, then somebody comes and tells him, look “This is a mirage, running after this is never going to be able to quench your thirst.” “But, there is an oasis, come with me. I will take you there.”

And that is what is needed in this world. Everybody needs a guide, who can actually show him the way, to the real source of joy, the real source of happiness.

Through our lives, most of us think we know how to act when it comes to doing the right thing.

Roh Singh:
But what is the right thing to do.And how do we overcome our own ego and self interest to do it?

I talk with His Holiness on what he thinks doing the right thing by acting selflessly means.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
I was brought up in an environment in India, when we used to think that “West is the Best”. And then I went to the West. And there I began to see that this is also the same place.

So I started to read. I began to recognize the glory of India when I went out of India. And then that brought me to a point you know when I began to realise, that the goal of life is not to just pursue some materialistic objectives. And I went back to India in search of a spiritual master, in search of a guru because I knew to train in this path I need a guide, I need a spiritual master.

And initially, I tell you it was quite disappointing. Because you know it was kind of a feeling, that they themselves don’t know what they are pursuing. So how can they guide me if they themselves do not know. But then I came across a book by Sri Prabhupada called “The Nectar of Devotion”. And when I started to read it, you know practically from the very first page, everything became clear.

Roh Singh:
It made sense to you.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
Like, you know I was aspiring for liberation those days, the goal of life was to become liberated.

Roh Singh:
Liberation, what does it actually mean to you?

Bhakti Charu Swami:
Liberation means, I mean at that time, awareness was to be free from the suffering condition.

Roh Singh:
Too many people feel that their identity and happiness is tied to their job, to their wealth, and to their material possessions. His Holiness emphasizes the need to search for the right guides, someone with experience to achieve inner contentment. And how critical it is to find the right guide.

Even His Holiness started out on a similar path. Feeling the influence of the West as the way it must be, but he soon learned something that challenged that. In the rediscovery in the richness of India.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
When, as I said, when I started to read the book. You know the first thing that came to me was I was aspiring for liberation. Another way you can describe that, you know, liberation, say consider, the question of liberation comes when there is a question of imprisonment.

A person who is free, he doesn’t have to worry about liberation or freedom. A person who is bound, a person who is imprisoned, he only needs this consideration of you know, becoming free.

Now somebody is in a prison. He can get out of the prison in 2 ways. He can dig a tunnel and escape from the prison. Although he will be out of the prison, but he won’t actually be free. The police will be after him, he will have to hide all the time. And his life will be even more miserable than before being in the prison. Like at least in the prison he was getting food and a place to sleep. Now he’s on the run.

Now the other way to get out of the prison is, you appeal to the King, “I’m sorry I made a mistake. I promise I will never commit that crime again.” And then the King sends the message “OK, he has rectified so release him.”

So that is the positive recollection to surrendering. So here comes again, the question of surrender, accepting the authority of the King. Now, accepting the authority of the King of Kings, the supreme personality of God Head.

Roh Singh:
Yes, yes.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
And, you know, like, surrender. I surrender unto you, all I want is to please you. And you decide what you want to do with me.

Roh Singh:
Ok, so having a good deal of trust?

Bhakti Charu Swami:
Yes, exactly.

Roh Singh:
Surrender and liberation may be similar things, for me it was simply about being willing to accept, that not everything was in my control, and learning to let go.

It has helped me achieve contentment and enabled me to focus on meaningful work.

His Holiness shares some insights into his 40 year journey into liberation through service to others.

Can we talk a little bit more in terms of surrendering, what does it actually take, or what did it take for you, I mean I for instance, in the mornings when I meditate, I go through a particular series of Pranayamas and Asanas and then I get to a stage where I do my surrendering, or my puja and then you know, I actually have a certain phrase that I say, you know where I surrender. How do you go about it, or how do you find that process?

Bhakti Charu Swami:
When you are, when you are a little boy. Did you have any anxieties?

Roh Singh:
None. none.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
Why?

Roh Singh:
I think I had faith, I was in touch, I just saw everything as being beautiful. That also had a bit of a part, but yes. I knew I had been looked after.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
This awareness that someone is there. Who is taking care of you, who knows what is best for you, who is providing you with that. When we are children we can depend upon our parents. But when we grow up, we can’t depend upon them. Then we have to fend for ourselves. Not only do we have to fend for ourselves, we also have to fend for those around us. And that causes so much anxieties. So much distress.

Roh Singh:
Unnecessary worries. Yes.

Bhakti Charu Swami:
But if we could recognise that there is somebody who is taking care of me, who knows what’s best for me, so let’s depend upon Him.

Roh Singh:
It was an enriching few days for me, to be able to spend the time with someone who is living the life I have revered for so long, and learning from each other’s experiences and studies in happiness.

A conversation between His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami and Rohilesh Singh, Creator of the Happiness Platform.Have you sat back and thought about just how mentally healthy or unhealthy your workplace is and your life in general? Have you thought about what actually fulfils you or why despite all your accomplishments, you are still chasing some […]

The post Happiness Platform with His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami on The Leadership Show appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

The Bhaktivedanta Manor marked the start of a new chapter in its history on Friday 10th June, as the groundbreaking ceremony for the long awaited Haveli building was led by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The ceremony formed part of the Manor’s offerings to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, upon which Mr Cameron heartily […]

The post UK Prime Minister, Bhakti Charu Swami and many ISKCON leaders celebrates ISKCON’s 50th anniversary appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

Throughout temples in India, including the beloved Krishna Balaram Mandir in Vridavan, the Maha Mantra is chanted 24 hours a day, 365 days a year non-stop. Here at New Vrindavan, a beautiful rural temple in West Virginia, we too, will have the sacred opportunity to chant 24 hours non-stop together in great association, June 18-19. […]

The post New Vrindavan Kirtan Mela appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

Chant, chant, chant! Harinama in Sydney, Australia (Album with photos)
The 14th consecutive Harinama! 14 nights of pure nectar! Spreading the holy names around!
Srila Prabhupada: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has openly declared, niyamitah smarane na kalah. This includes desa, kala, and patra-place, time and the individual. Therefore anyone may chant the Hare Krishna, without consideration of the time and place. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.15.31 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/38m8nP

The Story of Dasati.
Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami: I recently heard a story about a guru and disciple relationship. The Guru was Ramanuja Acarya and he had one disciple his name was Dasati. This Dasati, after Ramanuja, he was probably the greatest scholar in the whole world. He was really a wonderful-wonderful vaisnava. And he knew, he really-really knew the Vedas nicely. So one day he went to Ramanuja Acarya and he said: “Guru Maharaja, I would like for you to explain me Krishna’s final statement in the Bhagavad Gita.” That statement is:
sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah
Krishna says we should abandon everything that we have and surrender to Him. So he said: “Guru Maharaja, please explain to me all the internal and esoteric meanings of this verse.”
And Ramanuja said: “Actually, I’m not qualified to describe this. But I know in one village there is this very old saint, and he knows so much, go there and serve him”. So Dasati followed Ramanuja’s instructions, he went there and he found this very old and saintly sadhu in the village. And he served him so faithfully. He did everything for the sadhu.
And finally one day that saintly sadhu looked at Dasati and said: “Maharaja, you’ve been serving me so nicely! What can I do for you?” So he said “Please explain to me all the meanings of this verse from Bhagavad Gita”. And that sadhu looked up and said “For me to even say something to you would be totally foolish, you know so much more than myself, therefore all that I can say is go back and serve Ramanuja”. So he went back to the place where Ramanuja was.
Just at that time one lady from a far village came to see Ramanuja. She was from a brahman family. And she had just gotten married into a family and she said: “Ramanuja, these people that I married into their family, they treat me like a slave. They expect me to cook all the food, wash all the pots, and wash all the clothes, and keep the house clean and the worst thing is that the well is at least 3 kilometrs from the house. And they expect me to go and collect the water also. It’s too much for me. And they always abuse me and they speak badly to me and I just don’t know what to do”.
Ramanuja said “Well, it’s easy. You need to get a servant to carry the water and do the cooking.”
Just at that time Dasati arrived, and Ramanuja said “He can go with you as a servant, he can carry the water and do the cooking”. And without saying anything Dasati just went with that lady.
And every day he started doing all the cooking, carrying all the water, cleaning everything, and the people in the house would abuse him and they didn’t even know that next after Ramanuja he was the greatest scholar in the whole world.
That went on for about 8 months. And then one day one great-great scholar came to that town and he was giving a lecture on Bhagavad Gita. And this scholar he was a horrible impersonalist. And he was saying such things in his lectures like “God has no form”, “God has no senses”, “God is only unmanifested Brahman”. And everybody from the [indistinct] went to hear this lecture. And Dasati was given permission by the family to go and listen. And Dasati was becoming crazy listening to this impersonalist speak.
So finally the man finished his lecture and Dasati said: “Sir, you have said that God is impersonal. But actually this is foolishness.” This man looked at Dasati “If you know is correct then you establish the truth”. Dasati immediately stood up and very elaborately established how Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to all the Vedic understandings.
And all the people of the town were looking at this person and they were saying “Who is this?” and the man on the platform was saying “You’re just a water-carrier! You’re just the cook! What do you know about Veda? What do you know about the truth?”
And Dasati spoke – everyone was amazed. And the man came off his platform and on the spot he surrendered to the feet of Dasati. And Dasati went back to the house to cook and collect water.
Then finally the word got out that this was Dasati. And Dasati had defeated that great Mayavadi and people went to Ramanuja and they told him how Dasati had defeated this Mayavadi. But what Dasati was doing was just He was carrying water and cooking for some karmis. And he was happy doing that.
They said “Maybe we should bring Dasati back to You”. At that point Ramanuja said “No-no, I will go to Dasati”. And so he went there and Dasati saw his Guru Maharaja come and he was in so much ecstasy, he fell down and embraced the lotus feet of his spiritual master. And he [Ramanuja Acarya] said “Now let us go back to Sri Rangam”. And there on the way he walked alone with Dasati, he said:
Now I will explain to you the meaning of verse 18.66 from Bhagavad Gita, because you have shown that truly you are a prideless person. You have shown that you are not attached to the concept of being the greatest scholar in the world.
You have shown that you are not attached to the concept of being such a great sanyasi. You have shown that you are not attached to the concept of being a temple president. You have shown that you are not attached to the concept of being a GBC. You have shown that you are not attached to the concept of being the best harmonium player. Or the best camera person. You see. You have shown that you are not attached to all these things.
“You have shown that you are just attached to following the instructions that you receive from Your spiritual master. Therefore you are qualified to understand Bhagavad Gita.”
So this is the natural relationship between a disciple and the spiritual master.
A disciple should follow the instructions of the spiritual master. Very happily, just like Dasati, who could go carry water and cook. You see. It was very easy for him to do. You see.
So we should look at ourselves – are these things easy for us to do? To chant 16 rounds. To follow 4 principles. To read Prabhupada’s books. To conduct our affairs in just the way affairs are conducted in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. You see. To dress the way that we dress in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Some people can’t even dress properly. See. To eat the way we’re supposed to eat, to eat Krishna prasadam.
So basically a disciple means one who follows. And remember the example of Dasati. He would follow so much that even though he was the greatest-greatest of all Vedic scholars he could just go and carry water for karmis.
Initiation talk from “Lectures 2007-2008” [00:00:00-00:16:57]
Sri Vrindavan Dham farm, Kazakhstan

June 11. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Satsvarupa dasa Brahamacari – A Poem from 1966.
On Going (from the Storefront) into the Street.
Lord Vishnu, guard this boy as he goes out
or if You want me to die today, take me.
I can’t fall in the street or be crushed or stabbed.
That can only happen to the body.
Let me chant the Lord’s Holy Names
at the end and right now.
And here is my identity
in case no one knows,
a disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.
Tell him I was on an errand for him.
But I don’t want this to happen.
I am only beginning to learn bhakti
and my heart and brainstuff is dirty.
I’m going out now, Lord Vishnu,
and I pray to stay within You.
All glories to You and to those devotees
like Swamiji and Narada and Vyasadeva,
who tell us how to join with Krishna
in the eternal blissful world.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=9

About HG Akrura Dasa:HG Akrura Dasa prabhu was born in 'Shuktal, India. Shuktal is the actual place where Shukdev Goswami spoke the Srimad Bhagavatam to Parikshit Maharaj. HG Akrura  prabhu is continuing the glorious service that was started by his father by conducting Bhagavat katha and Bhagvad Gita programs.He preaches Krishna Consciousness in India, West Indies & North America in English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu and Hindi languages.Prabhu also serves as the co- President of ISKCON and the Global ISKCON as  Deputy GBC.




11.00- 11.15      Tulsi Puja
11.15 - 11.30     Guru Puja                                        
11:30 –11:55     Aarti & Kirtan                                      
11.55 - 12.00    Sri Nrsingadeva Prayers                 
12.00 – 1:00    Vedic discourse
  1:00 –  1:30     Closing Kirtan
  1.30 _  2.00     Sanctified Free Vegetarian Feast


Up coming Seminar by HG Akrura Dasa-Vaishnava Etiquette
On June 17(7pm-9pm) and 18(10am-12pm & 1pm-3pm) at ISKCON Brampton

Please RSVP



Monthly sankirtan Festival(MSF)

“One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.”(Previous Acaryas)

Every member of ISKCON should have the opportunity to make advancement in Krishna consciousness by preaching.We encourage everyone to come out and participate and make Srila Prabhupada happy.

Please contact:
Rasaraj Dasa-rajrushika@yahoo.com/ 647.887.5736(Mississauga and Brampton regions)
Narahari Dev Dasa- naraharidev@gmail.com (

 

Satsvarupa dasa Brahamacari – A Poem from 1966

21 miles

3 miles

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, May 2016, Coimbatore, India, Conversations in Hospital)

Desire and hate, lust and anger manifests because we do not understand Krsna and this is because of our attachment to the body, iccha-dvesa-samutthena (Bhagavad-gita 7.27). We relate to our working senses – working, surviving and struggling – thinking we need just a little more and then we will be successful. This is perplexing. But our main focus is Krsna, hearing about Krsna, and chanting his names and glories.

When we cannot chant then we serve the movement. It is by lust that we become covered and manipulate the material energy. The living being is trying to exploit the material energy but everything is for Krsna and we must find some purpose for it in Krsna’s service.

There is a gradual awakening of bhakti in us except for few like Katwanga Maharaj who was given a benediction by the demigods to ask for something and he asked to know the time of his death. He was told he had only a moment to live so he surrendered immediately.

Chanting is our sadhana (daily practice) and with chanting, we have Krsna. We are already there but we are lacking awareness! Out of the nine processes of bhakti: śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23), the first three – hearing, chanting and remembering (śravaṇaṁ, kīrtanaṁ, viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ) are bhagwat viddhi and rest are pancharatrika vidhi: pāda-sevanam – serving the lotus feet of the Lord, arcanaṁ – deity worship, vandanaṁ – prayers, sakhyam – we must be favourable, dāsyaṁ – mood of a servant, ātma-nivedanam – fully surrendered. Pancharatrika is basically collection of favourable principles whereas bhagwat viddhi is an internal process. Although pancharatrika is external, it is still necessary as it allows us develop internally.

Live transcription by Man Beharini dd from Pune who visited Maharaj in hospital.

SEEING CANCER AS A MESSENGER, NOT AS THE ENEMY: As it is said, don’t shoot the messenger, but hear the message. Cancer is an effect of something much deeper and primal, pointing to something beyond it. In the alternative cancer treatment world they say that we aren’t sick because we have cancer, but we have cancer because we are sick, or we have a compromised immune system. Exactly why we do is a question for deep contemplation and prayer for the ability to be completely honest and open to hear something uncomfortable about ourselves.

I have mentioned that I see any disease as having a physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual aspect or reason for its existence. However, to me the spiritual reason is really at the root, and without dealing with the root of any problem it will keep returning. If you have ever had a boil and not gotten out the root or core, you know what I am talking about. The Shrimad Bhagavatam gives the analogy of bamboo: if only the visible part is burned down (as with jnana), the plant will return, since its roots are still in place (which will only be eradicated with the power of bhakti). This perspective can also be applied to any disease or problem in our life. Only dealing with the effects, or visible symptoms, as often done with modern medicine, will only be temporarily helpful, if at all.

I am addressing the physical aspect by diet, pranayam, exercise, and herbal treatments, and see the mental/emotional as relating to the spiritual root of my cancer. I have a secondary tumor in the lymph node, near the 5th or throat chakra, with the primary tumor in back of the nose, close to the 6th or third eye chakra. From my introspective and prayerful investigation of myself, I have to speak and communicate more (5th chakra) my inspiration of essential truth (6th chakra).

read more

Bhaktivedanta Manor marked the start of a new chapter in its history on Friday 10th June, as the groundbreaking ceremony for the long awaited Haveli building was led by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The ceremony formed part of the Manor’s offerings to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, upon which Mr Cameron heartily congratulated ISKCON on by praising Srila Prabhupada on his creation of a "global mission".

By Vrsabha das

The Albanian Trip 2016

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu foretold that the holy names would be sung in every town and village even in Kali-yuga. Owing to Srila Prabhupada, Krishna consciousness has spread almost all over the world. However, there are still some countries where there are no devotees or Krishna’s temples. Albania is one of those countries.

The first attempt to spread the sankirtana mission in Albania was in the late ’80s when HH. Bhakti-Vaibhava Swami (then HG. Avinas-Candra prabhu), together with three devotees from the former Yugoslavia, spent several days in Tirana. Then, in 2010. and 2011; a handful of devotees from the Karlovac temple (Croatia), led by Mohan prabhu, had a Harinam tour of Albania. Both times they stayed for five days and were holding Harinams in Tirana, Shkoder and Durres. In addition to singing the holy names, they were distributing Isopanisads and Atma magazines to passer-bys. After that, only in March of the last year, four Vaishnavas stayed for five days in Tirana and distributed around 700 Isopanisads in the Albanian language. These four devotees were: Lakšminath prabhu from Slovenia and three devotees from Croatia – Nayanananda prabhu, Vaikuntha-murti prabhu and Kripalu-Krishna prabhu.

However, it is important to emphasize that the sankirtana mission of distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books would not have been possible without two Vaishnavas. Višvabhavana-Krishna prabhu financially sponsored the printing of 2,000 copies of the Albanian Isopanisad, and the book was translated into Albanian by Murlidhara-Krishna prabhu from Prishtina (Kosovo). The last year’s experience of the devotees was so inspiring that there was enthusiasm to return back to Albania. Since due to personal commitments, three devotees from the last year’s mission did not have the time or opportunity to go on the mission this year – I took the opportunity and made myself and my car at Nayanananda prabhu’s disposal. He was the organizer of the mission ” The Albanian Trip 2016.”

In addition Nayanananda prabhu (a disciple of HG. Rohini-suta prabhu) and myself (a disciple of HH. Smita-Krishna Swami), about half a year prior to our departure to Albania it was known that the third member would be Trilokatma prabhu from the Czech Republic (a disciple of HH. Bhakti-vaibhava Swami). A few days before our departure it was uncertain who would be the fourth member of our team. However, Krishna gave a chance to the one who had the greatest desire – bh. Peggy (Predrag) from Split (Croatia). Although still without a guru and initiation, bh. Peggy is quite an experienced devotee who has been a member of ISKCON for 20-odd years. I witnessed his enthusiasm two years ago at the Woodstock Festival in Poland where he was enthusiastically distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books.

On the 3rd of May, a day before our departure to Albania, Trilokatma prabhu arrived at the Zagreb temple. Though we didn’t know each other by then, his face was familiar to me, perhaps from some of our Vaishnava festivals. He has been a member of ISKCON for nearly 30 years. After distributing books for many years in former Czechoslovakia, in the last decade Trilokatma prabhu has been a prominent preacher who gives public lectures and is responsible for public relations. After special and demanding training in Mayapur, in the last two years he has performed functions as a GBC supervisor for the Czech Republic and Slovakian yatras. Besides his numerous duties and responsibilities, he uses his talent of handling the photo and a video camera. He is also the cinematographer of the documentary film “Simple living, high thinking.” Owing to him and his professional camera, we now have high quality photo records of our tour. I am convinced that these photos will one day have archival value when the future Albanian Vaishnavas remember our pioneering mission to establish Krishna consciousness in Albania.

On Wednesday, the 4th of May at 6am, Trilokatma prabhu, Nayanananda prabhu and I set off from Zagreb to Split, where we ‘picked up’ bhakta Peggy. The car was full. Because of the four of us, our luggage and seven packages (800 books) – the shock absorbers were weighed down heavily. Fortunately, my Renault Scenic has a roof rack. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to take everything we needed. To cut a long story short, that day I drove over 900 km. We drove along the Adriatic coastal road, passed by Dubrovnik and continued along the coastal part of Montenegro. It was getting dark when we were driving along a narrow, rural road into Albania. We trusted the blessings of Sri Narasimhadeva should customs officers question us about 800 books. What could we have answered? However, everything went fine except that we were quite tired when we got to our destination an hour before midnight – at a youth hostel owned by a tourist company “Albanian Trip”. Even at that late hour, the traffic in Tirana was quite lively, and people were on the streets. After unloading the car and unpacking luggage in our rooms – we fell fast asleep. We had to rest for the next (the first) working day. The next morning we rested from the long journey, but we used the time to agree on a strategy and service assignment.

Since he is a good cook, it was logical that bhakta Peggy (except for the book distribution) takes responsibility for bhoga shopping, cooking and cleaning the kitchen. Trilokatma prabhu and Nayanananda prabhu were to focus exclusively on the book distribution and collection of e-mail addresses. I alloted myself two additional services. Firstly, I made a commitment to photocopy the sankirtan flyers. This is a flyer that I compiled ten years ago, which was translated into Albanian by Murlidhar-Krishna prabhu. It consists of two sheets of A4 paper that says what is ISKCON, who is Srila Prabhupada, what is Vaishnavism, the meaning of the Hare Krishna mantra, and next to Srila Prabhupada’s picture I put the contact e-mail address and our two website addresses for those who understand English (www.krishna.com and www.iskcon.org). I brought from Croatia 170 flyers, but very soon I need to photocopy more. To my surprise, photocopying in Albania is almost twice as expensive than in Croatia. The photocopied flyers I had to staple together and fold every morning. We were distributing flyers along with the books and going on Harinam. In my estimation, we distributed a total of about 1,000 flyers.

My second assignment was related to the desire to give a public lecture to students in one of the six universities in Tirana. While my three friends went out after breakfast to distribute books and flyers, I wandered around Tirana and visited three universities where local authorities were polite, but they offered me only false hopes and nothing more than that. Two days before leaving Tirana I got in touch with an English teacher from one of the other three universities. She and her authorities were interested, but there was too little time for them to be able to organise my speech because my offer came at a very short notice. This will most likely occur the next time we go to Tirana. In the meantime she started reading the book “The Science of Self-Realization’. I have started e-mail correspondence with her. Furthermore, I went (twice) to the headquarters of the national television, but I was denied by a suspicious receptionist lady. I have devised a plan how I will get around her the next time. But I will not talk about it now.

While I was on the first day vainly visiting various universities, my friends were distributing books on the streets of Tirana. The very first day they emptied a box of 115 books. On that day we didn’t have Harinam because we wanted to ‘feel’ how people would react and what their consciousness was like. Of course, Nayanananda prabhu had already known that, having an experience from the previous year. The success of the three of them, encouraged me to get out on the streets the following morning and try to distribute books. On a quiet promenade within only 70 minutes I managed to distribute as many as 13 books. I was encouraged. Now I will share with you some realisations that all four of us have experienced. The first realisation: It is extremely easy to stop people in Albania, especially when they see that you are a foreigner. For example, out of 10 people that we tried to stop, eight of them did stop and listen to what we wanted to say (providing they understand very little English).

The second realisation: There are a lot of young people in Albania. Women are clearly more numerous than men. There are a large number of students in Tirana. They will be happy to take a book, but you have to bother with them a little to persuade them to give you a donation. The books that we were distributing were already pre-sponsored so we did not have to bother about covering BBT costs. For that reason we were giving books even to those who offered less than what we had expected. For example; we were expecting at least 100 Lek. (1 euro = 138 Lek). Most of them gave less than 100 Lek. On the contrary, some rare individuals would give 200 and more Lek for a book. While distributing books, we tried to collect as many e-mail addresses as possible. In the end, we collected 54 of them.

The third realisation: Their police are great! Minding their own business they didn’t approach us when they saw that we were selling ‘something’ on the street. We held five Harinamas. Three in Tirana, one in Elbasan and one in Durres. Without notifying the police, we would sit down (with tilak, in Vaishnava robes) wherever we wanted to and play for about two hours. Although at times the police officers passed by us, it didn’t occur to them to ask us who we were and what we were doing. I guess they were satisfied that we did not create havoc, and that our performance was peaceful. All of our Harinams had the same strategy. Bh. Peggy and I played instruments (he played the karatalas and I played the harmonium), while Trilokatma prabhu and Nayanananda prabhu were easily stopping people and distributing books. Within 90-120 minutes they would together sell about 60 books and give out as many leaflets.

The fourth realisation: In contrast to northern Albania, which is mostly inhabited by a Muslim population – southern and central Albania are multicultural, where people of different religions live. Most of them are Catholics mixed with a small number of Orthodox Christians and Muslims. As far as I could see – in Tirana, Elbasan and Durres there were as many mosques as there are in Zagreb. To my surprise, there was a statue of Pope Francis in Tirana. Those who are obviously Muslim ladies are mostly tourists from Turkey. Such religious diversity and mutual tolerance was a great relief for our sankirtana mission.

A handful of (mostly young) people asked us if we had a centre or temple where they could come, listen to lectures, learn something and associate with us. With a heavy heart we had to tell them that for now we didn’t have such a facility. All of these numerous realisations confirm that Albania is fertile ground for the spreading of the sankirtana movement. The potential is huge. There are a lot of young, intelligent people who could be cultivated and trained in Krishna consciousness. A lot of things can be done. I’m almost sure that a good public program (with lectures, bhajans and prasadam), could trigger an avalanche of changes in the lives of a large number of Albanians. Though not aware of it, they are ready for such a change. How about us, ISKCON missionaries and ISKCON as an institution – are we willing to invest efforts and resources in various projects with the aim of spreading Krishna consciousness in this, so far unconquered part of the world?

There is not a problem with the lack of enthusiasm and good will of a few of us who are willing to take on responsibilities and make efforts for the satisfaction of our beloved Srila Prabhupada – to create an Albanian-yatra. The problem is the lack of material facilities and financial resources. The four of us want to go back to Albania this autumn. However, in order to be more effective, we want to rent an apartment or house for about 2-3 months in which we could invite interested people. Unfortunately, the four of us do not have regular financial income to be able to cover the costs of renting a house (or apartment), heating, food, fuel for the car, and so on. Also, for now we depend on my car, in which we can accommodate a limited amount of books, which we can bring to Albania. Finally, we have a limited number of books leftover. And this is only one book – Sri Isopanisad. We need more titles. As you can see, we have enough of good will and enthusiasm. If you think that you can help in some way – please let me know. This support can be financial, printing or photocopying flyers, donation of books in English, a good idea or proposal, and so on. You can contact me at the e-mail address vrsabha@gmail.com

One day Albanian Vaishnavas will start coming to Mayapur and Vrindavan. The time will come when in Tirana and other major cities in Albanian there will be ISKCON temples, massive distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books, public programs, etc. Only time separates us from our goals. However, if we are not quick and efficient – time is not on our side. Rather, it works for the demonic forces that steadily undermine the moral, traditional and spiritual values ​​of people throughout the world, including Albania.

After the collapse of the dictatorial regime of Enver Hoxha and the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Albanian society began to open to the world; mainly the western, materially developed countries. And from there,only a few good things can come. It is obvious that in the foreseeable future, due to the negative impact from the West (mainly U.S.A.) the Albanian society will become imbued with various plagues of deep materialism and all kinds of madness that go along with it. Therefore, we need to act quickly and efficiently. We welcome all of you who would like to join our team in distributing books and preaching. Srila Prabhupada ki jay!

Your servant, Vrsabha das

By Mina Sharma

The Bhaktivedanta Manor marked the start of a new chapter in its history on Friday 10th June, as the groundbreaking ceremony for the long awaited Haveli building was led by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The ceremony formed part of the Manor’s offerings to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, upon which Mr Cameron heartily congratulated ISKCON on by praising Srila Prabhupada on his creation of a “global mission”.

A reception of over 300 people, including Parliamentary Secretary Under State Shailesh Vara, devotees and patrons, was held in a marquee over the spot where the new Shree Krishna Haveli will be built. HH Bhakti Charu Swami, HH Radhanath Swami, HH Sivarama Swami and HG Praghosa Das GBC were also in attendance.

After being shown the Temple Room and deities of Shree Shree Radha Gokulananda, the Prime Minister went on to garland the deity of Srila Prabhupada, stating “if only he had lived to see what the Manor has become; a mock Tudor country house donated by a Beatle, serving as a hub of worship, celebration and selflessness.”

The Prime Minister also congratulated ISKCON on its 50th anniversary, joking that he too will celebrate his 50th birthday this year. He went on to say: “I look at what you have done in the past fifty years and I think how much you can achieve in the next fifty. In fact, the next half century begins right now as we begin building the new Krishna Haveli, and I’m delighted to be putting the first tool in the ground.”

Shailesh Vara MP praised the Prime Minister for pioneering the term ‘British Indian’ and for forging better trade links with India. He said “the Prime Minister visited India more times than any other country, and took the largest trade delegation there… this Prime Minister cares about an inclusive modern Britain.”

Srutidharma Das, Temple President of Bhaktivedanta Manor thanked the Prime Minister for attending, and spoke of the important role of the Haveli and the need to “promote the spiritual values of tolerance, kindness… we at Bhaktivedanta Manor aim to embody these principles at large.”

Speaking about the Haveli, Managing Director of Bhaktivedanta Manor Gauri Das said: “This is a historic time for the Manor. The Haveli fulfils the needs of the Temple, respects the concerns of the local village and received full support from Hertsmere Council. It is a profound honour that the Prime Minister has put the first spade in the ground.”

By Sri Nandanandana dasa

The modern caste system is seen to usually dictate one’s varna or caste merely by one’s birth family, as if one automatically inherits the caste of one’s father, which is why there is a growing dislike for it. This is not the traditional Vedic system of Varnashrama. This is the difference and the problem. The traditional Vedic system calculated one’s occupational class by recognizing one’s natural talents, interests, tendencies, and abilities. It was similar to the modern system of having high school counselors adjust a student’s academic courses by discussing with the students their interests in conjunction with the results of their IQ tests. Thus, such counselors see what occupational direction is best suited for the students so they can achieve a fitting career that is of interest to them and helps them be a contributor to society at the same time. And the four basic divisions of society, as outlined in the Vedic system, are natural classifications and found everywhere, in every society, call it what you want. Plus, the traditional Vedic Varnashrama system was never so inflexible that one could not change from one occupation or class to another. The rigidity of the present-day caste system, based on jati or one’s birth family, is actually leading us away from the flexibility, and the common sense, of the Vedic varna system. Continue reading "Vedic Literature Says Caste by Birth is Unjust
→ Dandavats"

Harinam at Thompson Square Park, 50 years after Srila Prabhupada sat there and performed Harinam in the west for the first time.
One of the Park’s most prominent features is its collection of venerable American elm (Ulmus americana) trees. One elm in particular, located next to the semi-circular arrangement of benches in the park’s center, is important to adherents of the Hare Krishna religion. After coming to the United States in September, 1965, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896–1977), the Indian spiritual leader, founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York. He worked from a storefront on nearby Second Avenue that he used as the Society’s American headquarters. Prabhupada and his disciples gathered in Tompkins Square Park in the fall of 1966 to introduce the East Village to the group’s distinctive 16-word mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
On October 9, 1966, Prabhupada and his followers sat beneath this tree and held the first outdoor chanting session outside of India. Participants chanted for two hours as they danced and played cymbals, tambourines, and other percussive instruments; the event is recognized as the founding of the Hare Krishna religion in the United States. Prabhupada’s diverse group that day included Beat poet Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997). Krishna adherents continue to return to the tree to acknowledge its significance.

By Madhava Smullen

“People aren’t showing up with prepared speeches just yet,” jokes Chaitanya Mangala, MC of New Vrindaban’s fourth service appreciation ceremony since 2014. “But you can tell that what they’re sharing is much more thought-out.”

His quip illuminates just how much the ceremony has grown to mean to New Vrindaban residents, who are taking to heart Lord Krishna’s assertion, “I consider worship of My devotees to be better than direct worship of Me.”

At each ceremony, people are taking more time to think about and express their appreciations of their fellow devotees. They’re also digging deeper – while previously one or two would become misty-eyed, this spring’s ceremony on April 17^th saw at least a dozen devotees deliver such heartfelt tributes that they were choked up with tears and had to pause for a few moments.

Preceding the open appreciations were Chaitanya Mangala’s Powerpoint presentations about each person’s life and service, beginning with Betty Hickey, retired caretaker of the Rose Garden at Prabhupada’s Palace – who was present with her son Glenn.

Betty, who comes from a neighboring family of farmers, started at the Bahulaban greenhouse in 1983, moved to the Rose Garden in 1985, and managed it for most of her nearly thirty years of service until her retirement in 2011.

During that time she carefully cultivated it into an award-winning rose garden, named several times between 1988 and 1998 as one of the top 100 gardens in the United States by the American Rose Society.

Constantly making newspaper headlines, the Palace Rose Garden drew rose aficionados to New Vrindaban in droves. Also serving as the tour guide, Betty led them around, dazzling them with her botanical knowledge.

After the presentation, devotees praised Betty’s care, dedication, and kind-heartedness. Those who had worked with her in the Rose Garden over the years were grateful for her gentle, encouraging corrections when things weren’t up to standard, and for making them feel so valuable.

Betty’s late husband Jim Hickey, who passed away in December 2006, was also honored for his service. Jim worked as the head maintenance man at New Vrindaban during the 1980s, and was well-remembered for driving his blue flat-bed pick-up truck up and down the ridge, taking care of many things that needed repairing.

Like all the appreciation recipients throughout the evening, Betty was presented with a plaque by the ISKCON New Vrindaban and Eco-Vrindaban boards, commemorating her and Jim’s contribution.

“I think that it’s not work if it’s good work, and I always enjoyed my work here,” she commented, calling the devotees gathered “some of my best friends.”

Next, Jaya Murari Das was honored for his more than four decades of service. Joining ISKCON in the spring of 1975, he moved to New Vrindaban that November, and received initiation from Srila Prabhupada on July 29^th, 1976.

For the early residents, Jaya Murari’s appearance in New Vrindaban was nothing short of heaven-sent. At the time, the backwoods community was extremely austere, with only one faucet, no proper toilets or plumbing, and widespread dysentery from the contaminated water.

Jaya Murari, about ten years older than most of the other devotees and already well into a career as a master plumber, turned up with four truckloads of tools and plumbing materials. He soon built a safe and reliable plumbing infrastructure for the community, which he continued to expand and improve upon over the years until his retirement in the 2000s.

Always a dependable presence, he is also well-known for his photography and for his delicious Sunday pancake breakfasts in the early days.

Although Jaya Murari couldn’t attend the ceremony due to ill-health, the many devotees who rose to share their appreciations were filmed for him. Tears flowed freely as they recalled how completely he had changed the New Vrindaban experience; how he exemplified the gentle brahminical nature Prabhupada described in his books; and how he was a “Prabhupada man” through and through.

Next to be honored was devotee care manager Sukhavaha Dasi. After she joined in 1974 and was initiated by Prabhupada in 1975, she began helping the Pittsburgh and New Vrindaban temples with their bookkeeping. She was then put in charge of New Vrindaban’s “red trailer store,” distributing all the supplies devotees needed for their health and services.

In 1976, New Vrindaban installed industrial washing machines, and Sukhavaha headed up the laundry department; while in the 1980s, she spent much of her time on the road, fundraising. During this phase, she had her son Bhagavan, and daughters Sukadevi and Narahari.

More recently, she started ISKCON New Vrindaban’s devotee care program, and will be turning the “Prabhupada House” near the temple into a Wellness Center that will provide many physical, emotional and mental health services.

Offering appreciation, the devotees gathered described her as full of enthusiasm, always there to help, and very dedicated to working on herself. The greatest example of the latter was expressed in a very moving moment when her son Bhagavan, who was present, spoke about his mother. Like a lot of ISKCON parents in the early days, he said, she had focused on her services to the detriment of caring for her children.

“But a decade ago, you called me up one night, and said you wanted to talk about the past, and take responsibility for it,” Bhagavan recalled. “And since then, we’ve worked through many of our issues, and I couldn’t be happier with our relationship today.”

Finally, husband and wife Sarvasaksi Das and Viduttama Dasi were honored for their life of service. Joining ISKCON in 1974 as a married couple and moving to New Vrindaban that same year, they were initiated by Srila Prabhupada on Janmastami 1975.

Both did early services connected to the cows, which were a central part of New Vrindaban life at the time, with about 100 cows to 150 people.

Sarva helped milk all the cows by hand and herded them in and out of the Bahulaban pastures daily. Viduttama churned cream into butter for the Deities and devotees, also by hand. Both were photographed and featured in a 1976 Back to Godhead magazine article.

Later, as construction began on Prabhupada’s Palace, Sarva worked with the heavy equipment department. He then spent a decade as a silversmith, casting and making jewelry for a local New Vrindaban business. He is now semi-retired.

Viduttama, meanwhile, did the laundry in the days before washing machines came to New Vrindaban, washing everyone’s clothes by hand, outside, with cold water, rocks and ashes. Next, she worked in the Palace gift shop, where she enjoyed meeting and interacting with guests. She and Sarva also had two children – a son, Sudarshan, and a daughter, Radhastami.

Last year, Viduttama came full circle, as she began working for Govinda’s Groceries gift store and doing laundry for the Palace Lodge — the exact same services she did all those years ago. “And I love it!” she blurted out at the ceremony. “I couldn’t be any happier!”

A whole host of devotees recalled their many fond memories of serving with Sarva and Viduttama, as well as their kindness, devotion, down-to-earth natures and enthusiasm. The outpouring of love moved the couple to tears.

According to Srila Prabhupada’s purport in Verse 4 of the Nectar of Instruction, MC Chaitanya Mangala pointed out, these kinds of loving exchanges between devotees were exactly what ISKCON had been established to facilitate.

In conclusion he also quoted a 1972 lecture by Prabhupada in which he said, “In the lower stage, a devotee is concerned with the Deity worship, but he does not take much care of the devotees. But when one is advanced further, he can see Krsna and His devotees also.”

“Clearly, in the early days of ISKCON, we were at that lower stage,” Chaitanya Mangala says. “Now, let’s collectively evolve to the next level, where we worship Krishna in the temple, and also care for the devotees around us.”

That care continued to be shown into the evening, as devotees drank herbal tea, tucked into a celebratory Ekadasi cake made by Laksmanesvara Das, and chatted, furthering the loving connections made throughout the ceremony.

ISKCON's Governing Body Commission (GBC) held its annual general meetings in Mayapur between February 22 and March 5th, 2016. Among many other topics they have discussed the new zonal configuration of Northern America, including the administrative responsibilities of the zonal supervisors, as well as topics concerning ISKCON's 50th Anniversary celebrations.

The post Cultivating non-judgmental attitude – Three-part series at Brisbane on Bhagavatam (11.28.1-3) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The post Appreciating Gaudiya Vaishnavism – Three-part series at Sydney appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The post Uddhava Gita nectar – Four-part series on Bhagavatam (11.12.10-13) at Sydney appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.