Planet ISKCON

(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).

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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.”

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

Gaura Saksi expresses his gratitude for Jaya Murari das.

“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.

Vraja Johnson awards Betty Hickey her service appreciation plaque on April 17th.

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.”

Jaya Murari 2016 portrait.

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.

Ananga Manjari awards Sukhavaha dasi her service appreciation plaque.

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.”

Bhima Walker awards Sarva Saksi and Viduttama dasi their service appreciation plaque.

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.

Ekadasi cake made by Lakshmanesvara das.

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.

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Song: Shri Radhe (Srikalogy Remix). Available now from CDBaby, Bandcamp and iTunes

Preaching program in Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One has to continue chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and preaching the chanting of this mantra because such preaching and chanting constitute the perfection of life. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.67 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/CB2Duf

The book is an account of painful experiences of the first attempt to spread Krishna consciousness in the USSR, which was Srila Prabhupada’s desire; stories of devotees’ trials in jails and psychiatric hospitals, their encounters with the KGB, but the author Sarvabhavana Das doesn’t lack in humor when he recalls, as he puts it,  “his painful but blissful past”.

What’s Your Vow?
Ananda Vrindavana Devi Dasi: Being austere is not highly regarded in contemporary culture. We over eat, oversleep, over mate, and over defend. The concept of having less or doing less is something that may be admired from a distance but generally not considered so welcome when it’s closer to home.
In yoga teachings, austerity is considered the wealth of those who seek self-realization and an understanding of how to discover our love for Krishna. Wealth. Think about that for a moment. Who does not want wealth? However, this wealth is all about the things that money can’t buy. Austerity, when done properly, brings a veritable treasure – wisdom, an opening of the heart, feelings of love for Krishna and an understanding of everything around us!
Vows are part of the practice of austerity and the Kartik month, which started yesterday, is considered the best month of the year to take a vow. Depending on who we are and where we live, our vows will be shaped. Many go to Vrindavan India for this month and practice austerities like eating once a day, chanting 64 rounds on japa beads, or walking without shoes to Krishna’s sacred places.
For us here in the comfortable USA we can choose vows that work for us (not a good idea to go barefoot to the office :). It can be a small thing that we do for Krishna every day, for one month, but it should stretch us. We should feel the pinch a little bit and in that struggle, the offering becomes sweeter.
We don’t have to tell anyone our vow, although it is helpful to have a ‘vow buddy’ whom we can lean on. The mind loves to take down vows so we may need a support group :)
Here are some ideas to get us started. Do something. Our life will be all the better for it.
give up sweets
chant 4 extra rounds
read 10 Gita verses a day
do a daily act of charity
give away a book about Krishna every day
don’t criticize others
don’t complain
take a cold shower
do menial service
do what no one else wants to do
give up TV
give up Starbucks
sleep on the floor
join the outdoor kirtan on the weekends
become a monthly donor
skip a meal
give up chocolate
be a vegetarian
drop caffeine
drop alcohol
give 50% of your income away for that month
only take ahimsa milk
offer a ghee lamp every day to Krishna
sing the Kartik prayer
don’t watch the news
pray more, speak less
love more, hate less
live more, give more, and be more

Love of an Indian Mother.
Mohini Madhavi devi dasi: Trembling voice; moving train; eyes seemingly will be showered with tears; feeling of a warm hand and compassionate glance;
Glance of a loving Mother!
My friend Nilam, her sister Nisha, their mother and I were going in the train to the station. It was time when I visited Mumbai for the first time.
I was studying in Mysore. But on the first vacation I decided to visit one of the world famous Temples - Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir in Girgaun, Mumbai. Temple is famous not because of its wealth but because of wonderful congregation. Place where Devotees take care of each other so nicely. Where big, big persons, industrialist, the wealthiest personalities do menial services like washing pots and collecting shoes of guests; where big or small you are, no matter what, you are accepted and loved equally…
It was the place where I meet my friends Nilam and Nisha and then they invited me to stay at their small, rented room.
Room was so small that when 4-5 people lie down room gets filled up. But still family was so kind. Father and younger brother slept on the top roof of the room so that girls could sleep down. It was a small room like place above that small room. It is a traditional room in a crowded Mumbai with millions of people. They had tiny room but ocean like hearts!
First evening they cooked puran puri, rice, dhal, and chapatti and offered me Prasadam on a banana leaf. They taught me how to eat the food; telling me what should be taken first, second and last.
In this way I stayed with them for few days. My vacation came to an end. I had to leave Mumbai.
The last day I went to the Temple and wanted to spend some more time there and directly leave to the station. Nilam was with me. She was taking me to the station. On the way we meet her mother and sister Nisha. Then we sat on a city train. Nisha brought out a huge plastic box out of mango sweets. But that was filled up with some food. She handed me the box and told that it was cooked by her mother especially for my long trip to Mysore.
I was touched with their care and said that there was no need; I could buy some fruits on the way. Nisha told ‘no, no. Journey is so long. You will be hungry. So my mom did not sleep at night but made this especially for you.’
She continued: ‘it is a rice papad. She could not find rice flour late evening so had to buy rice and make flour out of that herself. Then she fried all these papads in ghee.’ ‘So she made it for you, please take!’
I did not eat rice, plus fired rice for over 5-6 years. But in order to accept her love I accepted it to make her happy. But that was external.
From within I felt so much of her love, care that while all we were sitting tears flow from my eyes. Nisha’s mother noticed it and immediately came up to me and embraced me. My voice was chocking I could not speak for a while. Later I told that my own mom would never ever cook for us when we go to school. Of course she was a working lady of a Soviet Union time when everyone was starving with no food and money.
But still, I grew up wanting and yearning for the food from the hand of my mom; which never ever used to happen. So our lunch used to be a piece of Russian bread and margarine applied on it.
But here I saw and felt so much of motherly love. She did not sleep for whole night, doing all that flour out of rice and then frying them one by one; and it was not for her own kids but for someone whom they know only for few days.
While saying all these I continued crying. Tears were flowing from my eyes. Mother started worried herself, started to dry my tears with her hand saying something in Hindi followed by ‘Aree, aree!’
It was the time when I meet a true Mother. Indian Mother! Loving and caring Mother!
It says that Mother is a first guru to a child. So by her examples mother teaches her kids. And the best education is not that we know much; not that we can earn much;
But the best education is when we gain good qualities! We learn lovingly to take care of others!

 Whether its shoes, gadgets, clothes or cars, most things I buy seem to break down, play up or fall apart, costing me a small fortune in the process! One acquisition, however, that has stood the test of time, is the wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita.

The post Daily Darshan: June 10th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

A new book by Radhanath Swami/

On behalf of the World Holy Name Week Committee, I am honored to share with you some information and resources regarding World Holy Name Week 2016.
Dates: 28th July – 14th August
28th July is the lunar calendar date of The Incorporation of ISKCON in New York.
14th August is the solar calendar date of Srila Prabhupada’s first historic Harinam Sankirtan in Washington Square Park, New York City, USA.
Download Posters in PDF:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw7fh3dQppfARE0wRVZOM0RJQWc/view?usp=sharing
Download Posters in CDR (you can modify with Coral Draw Program)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw7fh3dQppfAeVdsd0pLeVZnb1E/view?usp=sharing
Your servant,
Ekalavya Das
Secretary - World Holy Name Week

Radhanath Swami draws from his personal experiences to demystify the ancient devotional path of bhakti, capturing its essence and explaining its simple principles for balancing our lives. His down-to-earth writing simplifies spiritual concepts and answers timeless questions in a heartfelt narrative that brings this sacred philosophy to life. What is love? What is the soul? Who is God? How can we live in the physical world without losing touch with the spiritual?

Krishna In The Heart Of London (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: As we held a beautiful and colorful initiation ceremony in our temple, just off Oxford Street in the heart of London, the city awoke to a beautiful warm summer morning. Radha London Isvara’s blessings seemed to be present everywhere. [Photos by Ananta Vrindavan dasa]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/E9M1Ep

June 10. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Can a Pure Devotee Have Personal Preferences?
The first time I encountered this question was in 1966. Devotees were taking lunch prasadam with Srila Prabhupada one day when a young, rather unsubmissive man came into the Swami’s apartment for lunch. I remember that Prabhupada was sprinkling hot sauce on his meal. This young man asked Prabhupada why he was eating this sauce. He replied that he liked it.
The young man became doubtful when Prabhupada said that. He said something to the effect: “You use hot sauce just because you like it? You mean there’s no special spiritual significance?” The young man looked around at us as if to show that he had caught Srila Prabhupada in some relative position, or as if he had defeated him in a debate. I remember thinking that this man’s attitude was ridiculous and offensive, but I also saw the point he was trying to make.
Is Prabhupada’s sprinkling of hot sauce on his meal in this category? Is he doing it for his own sense gratification? Who can know Prabhupada’s inner meditation when he sprinkled that sauce? Also, Vaisnavas are not extreme tyagis. They do not have to prove their devotion by sprinkling ashes on their food or not eating at all. They accept Krishna’s mercy in the form of prasadam. What is the harm if they add seasonings to their food? Prabhupada himself ate very simply. He was elderly and ate things that stimulated his digestion.
His preferences were expressions of Krishna consciousness to us. We were always intrigued and happy to find out the little things that Prabhupada liked. It brought us closer to him. It taught us how to serve him better. In fact, an expert disciple was one who knew exactly how Prabhupada liked his room to be arranged, how to cook for him, how to arrange his schedule, and so on. Even today, the more things you know about how Prabhupada conducted things, the more qualified you to serve in ISKCON.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=9

Back in January 1967, Mukunda Goswami was instrumental in putting on The Mantra Rock Dance in San Francisco, a key counter-cultural event of its time that put Srila Prabhupada and his disciples on the map. Now, nearly fifty years later, he has been a driving force in organizing the hugely ambitious Transcendental Journey, a spectacular show at Australian landmark the Sydney Opera House in celebration of ISKCON’s 50^th anniversary.

A documentary about Srila Prabhupada's beginning of ISKCON at 26 Second Avenue. NY. The film is based on interview with Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, one of the most senior of Srila Prabhupada''s disciples who is also the author of the biography 'Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita". ISKCON Cinema, BBTI and other copyrighted material used with permission. To arrange public viewing please report to sdg@sdgonline.org and visit http://www.sdgonline.org

Can a Pure Devotee Have Personal Preferences?

Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami is saying that the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is just amazing, and the more one tries to logically understand it, the more amazing it is. I like to call this verse, the open invitation to the Caitanya Caritamrta. I see this verse as an important verse because it shows us the proper attitude by which we are meant to look at the life of Lord Caitanya. We are looking at his mercy and that is what we are trying to uncover, more and more.