Planet ISKCON

Even a Paragraph, A Sentence, A Word

Giriraj read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 8.

Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya were embracing in ecstasy, the Lord restrained His transcendental emotions upon seeing the outsider brahmanas. (Cc Madhya 8 purport)

“In this verse the word ‘vijitiya’ appears which means ‘outsider’. And, opposed to that is ‘sajitiya‘. Because the brahmanas were vijitiya or outsiders—in other words they were not pure devotees who could understand the loving exchanges between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramanada Raya—Lord Caitanya restrained His emotions so that they would not be bewildered and commit offences.

One of Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples, named Gargamuni, told Srila Prabhupada that he felt like crying in kirtan. Srila Prabhupada replied. ‘It is alright when you are with other devotees because they will understand. Otherwise you should not cry in public.'”

Cc Madhya 8, Houston

The mind is a sort of mirror by which consciousness reflects its light into the dim world of external objects. This mirror is the first function of the mind, which is called citta (“heart”).

The mind has three other functions too. 

The next function is to create an image of oneself (“ego” / ahamkara). Consciousness reflecting on a mirror, sees an image of itself. The image is not exactly the self, but resembles it, depending on the quality of the mirror. This image inspires a general sense of ambition: “I see myself on this mirror, I exist! So let’s do something!”

The next function of the mind (manas) is called “emotions and desires” or just takes the name “mind” since it is the main function of the whole internal aparatus (antah-karana). The mind develops very specific ambitions, called desires. For example, If the self revealed on the mirror of the ego appears to be a monkey, the mind will then develop desires that go along with that monkey ego. “I want bananas.”

The final function is to recognize objects and other patterns of data. This is called “Intelligence” (buddhi). All the perceptual senses feed their data into the intellect, which sorts it out and makes sense of it. So, for example, when some yellow light comes into the eyes, the intellect sorts it out – recognizing it as belonging to either a lemon or a banana.

The intellect feeds these recognized patterns to the mind. “Hey look we have a lemon here.” The mind then reacts with an emotion. “Boo! I don’t want lemons I want bananas.” Or if the intellect reports a banana the mind reacts with a happy emotion “Yay, bananas!”

The mind then presents its desire to the intellect “I want them.”

The intellect will assess how and if it is possible to get them. This produces more emotions in the mind. If the intellect informs the mind, “they are far up in a tree, guarded by pythons.” Then the mind experiences sadness. If the intellect figures out a way to distract the pythons and climb the tree, the mind experiences elation. 

So all the emotions, desires, ambitions, and self concepts are not in the field-knower (us, consciousness itself), they are in the field – and we vicariously identity with our field by looking at it intently, projecting our consciousness into it via the first function of the mind (citta), the mirror.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskAwRrhQ

The post Photos of new school building opening appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

History of one photo.
Denis, hello. My life has changed dramatically over the last fifteen months. It now makes sense and fullness. My son and husband are happy, our lives normal. I live for the first time. I live with a sense of integrity and involvement to everything around. It all began with a short, but the most important meeting of my life. Denis, thanks to you I have come to Krishna consciousness, it happened six months after it has been made this picture, but for the last six months I read the Bhagavad Gita and had the yatra has already consciously. I have no words to express the sense of gratitude that overwhelms me. It is because you have changed my mentality, attitude towards life and people. Thank you for what you have done to me, for your preaching and for the boundless happiness you gifted me with which I now enjoy. I would be immensely happy to see you again, and personally express you my gratitude.
Answer: Hello, dear Nastya! I am very pleased that my efforts have paid off. In fact, we need to thank Srila Prabhupada, that he saves us. I’m just the postman. I am very glad that your life has changed for the better, it inspired me to continue to distribute the book. Now I live in Omsk, and will stay here until the spring, but when I come back I will be glad to talk with you. I wish you happiness!

Iskcon Alachua: Door left open for Krishna elderly housing.
The decision came after hearing presentations from county staff and representatives of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness’ Alachua County location, which is off State Road 235, northeast of the city of Alachua.
Arvind Singh, a member of ISKCON, is proposing to develop his 12-acre parcel next to the religious facility in the hopes of providing a “congregate living facility” where elderly members of the congregation would live. Being close to temple would make attending 4:15 a.m. prayer easier and also help maintain their vegetarian dietary restrictions, according to Singh.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/fmzU4B

Kumbha Mela 2016 report.
Deena Bandhu Das: This is what one month in Kumbha Mela looks like! We distributed 20,000 Bhagavad Gita As It Is, 20,000 Btgs, about a thousand Kumbha Mela books, and many others. We did Harinam everyday for 2 hours, and distributed very nice full prasadam plates to thousands and thousands of pilgrims! Hundreds of pilgrims chanted their first round on our Japa Parikrama. Festival of Preaching! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!

Amaravati: International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) is constructing 108 mini temples (mandirams) at the upcoming Golden temple premises at Changheeskhanpet near Kondaveedu in Guntur district. These mini temples will depict various phases in the life of Lord Krishna like ‘Kali Mardanam’, ‘Godavardhanagiri’, ‘Geethopadesam’ and others.

The mini temples will depict various phases of the life of Lord Krishna
First phase of construction to be completed in two years
Two audio-visual theatres being set up to disseminate Vedic knowledge
A show using robots is being mooted to drive home the impact of good and bad deeds

The Iskcon started construction of Golden temple with a cost of Rs 200 crore. The phase one works which began few months ago are expected to complete within two years. It is said that the temple will be a cynosure of all eyes after the completion of construction and will attract tourists from far and wide.

The authorities are keen to use state-of-the-art technology to propagate Vedic knowledge and are constructing two audio-visual theaters in the temple complex. Apart from this, plans are afoot for a yagasala and a koneru (temple pond), which would be used to conduct ‘Teppotsavam’. A musical fountain is also set to adorn the temple complex.

Foundation works for the main temple have been completed and authorities said that they would start main construction work within a couple of weeks. The main temple will be in the shape of Swan (a mythological bird) and the presiding deity is Venna Krishna.

Speaking to The Hans India, Satya Gopinath Das chairman – south India of Iskcon said that for the first time in the country they are setting up state-of-the-art audio-visual theaters in the temple complex to disseminate Vedic knowledge. “We are also planning a robot show to explain impact of good deeds and bad deeds in the life. The entire temple would be constructed with pink stone, which is imported from Rajasthan,” he added.

Source: http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2016-05-27/108-mini-temples-coming-up/230700

The significance of rathayatra reached the far corners of the globe now and especially where ISKCON temples are located ever since Srila Prabhupada organised the first rathayatra in San Francisco in 1967 as briefed below. The rathayatra was scheduled on a Sunday the 9th July. On Saturday, 8th July, Jagannatha Deities were brought from Stinson Beach and draped in cloth. Although some rathayatra posters were the only official announcements, everyone in the Haight-Ashbury was talking about the festival. A Krishna parade to the beach! A love feast! Bring flowers, wear bells, paint up, chant, and get high! Celebrate Sri Jagannatha, Lord of the universe! Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada spreads Rathayatra world-wide
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The post Drawing the line in the sand appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Daily Darshan : May 27th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

"Artha" refers to not just wealth but also meaning. To pursue artha means to pursue both wealth and meaning, that is, to pursue wealth in a meaningful way that creates value.

All you ever wanted to know about how to chant japa …improperly :-) (4 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 20.16)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/PMrWrF

‘Miracle on Second Avenue’ is a short, carefully researched documentary book written in a you-are-there style, that catalogs the start and growth of the Hare Krishna movement. ‘Miracle on Second Avenue’ won the 2012 National Indie Excellence Award for Biography. The work is a memoir of Mukunda Goswami, one of the pioneers of the religious group that is now known throughout the world formally as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The book is a series of historical events that include the movement’s founder, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, and his interactions on two continents with the author over the three-year period from August 1966 until December 1969.

Here is a video clip introducing the book. Watch on YouTube.

Admittedly, although we desire these friendly connections with everyone around us, it just doesn’t seem to work out in real life. Fighting and friction seem an integral part of social intercourse. 

A video by ISKCON Congregation Ministry.

Maha Sudarshan Homa fire yajna for the protection of Mayapur (Album with photos)
The yajna is called the Maha Sudarshan Homa, and it last for 3 and hours. It is done once a year on the festival of Narasimha caturdasi and is dedicated to the protection of Mayapur Dham. This year the yajna was very successful and amazing in many ways. In the vehicle literature it said that if there is rain after a sacrifice it is very auspicious. And this year within 30 minutes from the yajna completion there was a huge rain, one of the biggest so far. We pray that lord Narasimha dev is pleased and that we may continue to serve him for many years to come. Us boys of the gurukul really love these services, and count off the days in our calendars not for vacations, but for the next big festivals:))
Sri Narasimha deva ki Jay!!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/FfTuzN

With ISKCON’s 50^th anniversary year nearly halfway gone, and the date of its incorporation on July 13^th, 1966 in New York fast approaching, temples throughout the society are working hard to make a splash for founder Srila Prabhupada. In South Africa, all the country’s thirteen temples are working together to achieve big things, with a steering committee driving efforts nationally, and ISKCON 50 ambassadors in each temple pumping everyone up locally.

Sankirtana Dasa, long time resident of New Vrindaban community, recently won a Storytelling World Resource Award for his dramatic storytelling CD Hanuman’s Quest. He is also a recipient of  a WV Artist Fellowship Award,  a National Endowment of the Arts Grant,  an Ohio River Border Initiative Grant, and a Next Generation Indie Book Award for his Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest.  

A video by ISKCON Desire Tree.

Bhaktivedanta Academy Alumni Page

“Hare Krishna,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. I would just like to tell my humble story and experiences in gurukul, and my great gratitude for His Holiness Śrīla Bhaktividya Purna Swami and all the teachers of the Bhaktivedanta Academy of Mayapur.

I was born in 1995, and by Krishna’s mercy in a family of exemplary vaisnavas. My father is Śrīman Prahlad Nrisimha Prabhu, my mother is Śrīmati Manorupa Mataji, and my brother Śrīnam Vanamali Krishna Dāsa. I was brought up in New Talavan, America, until the age of 5 when my studies were going to begin. Then we moved to Mayapur and joined the Bhaktivedanta gurukul. My father became a teacher there and I stayed there for six months until the Bhaktivedanta Academy finally reopened in September 2001. My brother and I both joined and I have been there ever since. My experiences in gurukul are definitely the highlights of my life, and the teachers, namely Śrī Madhava Gauranga Prabhu, Priti Vardhana Prabhu, Śrī Radhe Mataji, Vagisha Prabhu, Subeksana Prabhu, and many others, are so dear to me, some of them I see just like my parents. They have cared for and looked after me so perfectly ever since I was 6, and still do. My brother left the gurukul in the end of 2007. I was so happy in the school that I still wanted to stay and continue my studies. It was really just the best — my friends are all like brothers to me, and still are; with them even the hardest services were fun.

In 2009 I left the school in the beginning of my teens, wanting to go and try something else. With my parents and brother we moved to Ecuador and started a new life there, trying to preach to our relatives and many, many families and friends there. We would put up great festivals on Gaura Purnima, Nrisimha Caturdāsai, Janmasthami, ect. We would even make excuses to do programs like birthdays, full moons, ekadāsais, weddings, anything that would bring people to come listen, chant and take prasad. We would get easy around 50 people, and serve them all prasad. It was really ecstatic. But due to my laziness, my studying was not doing too well; I was doing an online course and would get extra tuitions here and there. But being 13 and really not wanting to study it was difficult to focus. After a whole year and a half my father decided that although the preaching was going good and we were making quite a community, it was important that my brother and I first finish our studies and be properly rooted in Krishna consciousness before attempting to do anything else. But then the question was if the gurukul would allow me to rejoin after being a whole year away. My father said we should at least try and if not, then I would join the Śrī Mayapur international school and get my high school diploma. We sold everything: the car, TV, fridge, ect. Even the Xbox 360, which was the latest one at the time, and moved back to Mayapur.

We arrived the day before Janmasthami 2010 in the night, and the next day took part with the gurukul boys in the preparation for the festival. I felt so at home and like family that I told my father, “I need to go back. I won’t go anywhere else.” He picked up the phone and called Madhava Gauranga Prabhu. He told Mahasay (a way of addressing your teacher with great respect) of my request, and Mahasay simply said, “Yeah of course, send him over with his bags.” Within an hour I was on my way to school, completely overjoyed. I never regret leaving though, because it really made me realize what I had and not take gurukula for granted. I made a decision to really try my best and give it all I had. I joined back as a completely new student and worked my way through the levels and in 2013 took initiation from His Holiness Indradyumna Swami. I then started to help with teaching and also in the management of the boys, under the guidance of the senior teachers and deans of the Academy. In December 2015 my dear Mother moved to Mayapur to leave her body due to so many diseases, one of them being cancer. I was destroyed and really torn at heart. But the teachers and boys of the school were my greatest strength. I was told by my teachers to go and serve my mother in her last days and to really try to learn from her and get her association. It was by far the greatest experience of a lifetime. I saw my mother day in and day out, twenty four hours a day, staring death in the face, but at the same time she was in complete bliss. We had kirtan for her 8 hours a day and there were so many senior sannyasis and Prabhupāda disciples, so many devotees and well-wishers constantly there. On one day my mother called my father over and said to him, “It’s amazing that even though you took me to every paradise this world has to offer, and gave me every desirable thing, you still managed to keep the best for last.” She was happier than I have ever seen her. She kept on saying to me to please stay in Mayapur and serve. She stayed on the verge of death for two whole months and then on the 16th of February 2015 my mother left this world at 4:45 AM during mangal arti, and by Krishna’s mercy I was allowed to sing for her during this most auspicious moment. That day I sang for 8 hours straight with so many mixed feelings in my heart. But over all I just so proud to be connected to such a great group of Vaiṣṇavas.

After some time my father left Mayapur to go preach again and my brother too. I was in gurukula, and can’t find the words to express the love that I felt from my teachers and friends. I will be forever grateful. My mother’s passing had such a great impression on me; I really wanted to do more for Śrīla Prabhupāda and for the school. I took my responsibilities and service up with so much more determination and with so much faith in the Lord and his service.

On the 4th of May, 2016, I graduated from the school and now along with my two good friends Baladev Śrīman dāsa and Krishna Caitanya dāsa we are helping as trainee principals and headmasters of the Academy. I hope that I may be a servant of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission and be an instrument in the gurukula educational system we all know was so dear to him. In conclusion, my experience of gurukula was by far the greatest thing I could have ever imagined. I love my gurukula, my life, so much that now even though I graduated, and could go where I like — and ‘experience’ the world — I really want to stay and serve in the gurukula. I want to help others, and to make sure that their experience of gurukula will top even mine. When I think back it fills me with pride to say that I really lived such a life. The relationships I made will last a lifetime, and my memories I hope will too. Of course, there were ups and downs; being six in the ashram is no walk in the park. But thinking back I wouldn’t have changed my past for that of a prince. For it made me what I am today, and although I’m not much, I really do want to serve and I ask for your blessings.

Your servant, Śrī Paramahamsa Gaura dāsa

Maha Harinam in Vienna, Austria (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In this Age of Kali, the process of worshiping Krishna is to perform sacrifice by chanting the holy name of the Lord. One who does so is certainly very intelligent, and he attains shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 20.11)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/msNhJY

Iskcon Los Angeles: 25th Annual Prabhupada Festival (May 28th, May 29th)
This year marks the 25th Annual Prabhupada Festival. The Prabhupada Festival was founded as a venue for all followers, newcomers, and interested persons to come together, learn about, and glorify His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and his accomplishments.
Held every Memorial Day Weekend since 1992, the festival has always been free of charge and open for all who wish to glorify and learn about His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The Los Angeles Temple, designated as ISKCON World Headquarters by His Divine Grace, is the location; and this festival has emerged as one of the largest festivals held there.
The festival includes special talks and remembrances from senior disciples, glorious kirtans, six sumptuous feasts, an annual boat festival, Maha Harinam, original artistic performances, representatives from diverse preaching projects as well as a variety of Vaishnava vendors.
If you have never attended the Prabhupada Festival, we enthusiastically invite you to attend; and if you have come before, we warmly invite you to attend again. This festival gets better every year and it is not to be missed! We look forward to seeing you. Srila Prabhupada Ki Jaya!
More info here: http://prabhupadafestival.com/

May 27. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: “All Right”
After a 1966 lecture in the storefront, Prabhupada sometimes asked for questions from the audience. When he felt he had answered enough, he said, “All right.” Sometimes he said it with resignation, almost sadness. He seemed to mean, “All right, I’ve tried my best.” Sometimes after answering many questions, Prabhupada’s utterance of “all right” sounded disgusted. He had just given a wonderful parampara speech, and yet people were raising their hands and asking challenging, doubtful, or crazy questions. He looked out at the audience before him, sensing that they were not asking intelligent questions. “All right,” he would say, “let us have kirtana.”
Swamiji sharing an apple with us as the last act of the evening at 26 Second Avenue; when he said, “All right,” it meant we had to leave. It was sad. Although we had just had such a nice meeting, it had to end, just like everything else in the material world. In that sense, “all right” presented a challenge to those souls who wanted to return to their maya in Manhattan.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

Gita verse-by-verse podcast

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The post ​Gita 10.16 – Desire for details of a subject demonstrates deep devotion to that subject appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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“All Right”

The following blog was one of my very early ones I posted in 2007, which I included in my book, Give to Live. I post it again because of my thinking this morning on the importance of seeing our life--with its many ups an downs--in the best light possible. This is true even as we strive to improve and may still feel bad about the mistakes of the past. Part of the spiritual and human journey is feeling our life has value, and in making the best use of it, even as we have to cut the karmic cords that bind us through forgiveness, acceptance, and prayer.

I share with you here four quotes from people glorifying the telling of our personal stories (and then comment on the general idea) from the introduction to the "4th course of Chicken Soup for the Soul" series (copyright 1997 Jack Canfield). If you like, you can call it "Chickpea Soup for the Soul."

"Everybody is a story. When I was a child, people sat around kitchen tables and told their stories. We don't do that so much anymore. Sitting around the table telling stories is not just a way of passing time. It is the way the wisdom gets passed along. The stuff that helps us live a life worth remembering. Despite the awesome powers of technology many of us still do not live very well. We need to listen to each others stories once again." Rachel Naomi Remen

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 February 2016, Bhaktivedanta Manor, United Kingdom, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.2.21)

It is true that there is that inner animal within us. The animal that we hide. The animal that lives behind the saintly expressions on our faces. There is this animal and we have chained him up in regulative principles by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy but he wants to break loose. That inner animal which lives within and he OR SHE wants to break loose and waits for opportunities!

I like this theme. I found it somewhere in a magazine, a lady writer picked up on it. She had this bag of special chips and she was like really lusting over the chips in her mind for a long time, and was waiting for an opportunity to sort of like get into it and stuff them in her mouth. So when no one was around, she attacked it, ripped it open and just like packed it in… and then someone came!

Now we can easily translate that into a mangal aarti sweet. You know, you get caught just as you secretly stuff it in your face. For a moment, you give some room to lusty desires by taking shelter of prasadam. It is good to take shelter of prasadam but you feel embarrassed when you get caught with a mouthful and you try to inconspicuously swallow it, as if everybody does not know what you doing since everybody you know does it too!

The point I am making is that it shows that we are indeed a combination of the modes of material nature and that indeed all these pushings of the senses are within us and we are controlling them with good behaviour. We say the right words, “Jaya… nectar… bliss.” Whatever words are there in the jargon, we say them and we dress in a particular sort of way… We are experts in projecting an image but internally it is still raging – there is still a volcano. There are still so many influences pulling us in so many directions. And therefore there is still a little bit of Kamsa in us… still a little bit of Putana and still a little bit of all these demoniac personalities.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 8.28.

“One who has a little faith in Bhagavad-gita should learn Bhagavad-gita from a devotee, because in the beginning of the Fourth Chapter it is stated clearly that Bhagavad-gita can be understood only by devotees; no one else can perfectly understand the purpose of Bhagavad-gita. One should therefore learn Bhagavad-gita from a devotee of Krsna, not from mental speculators. This is a sign of faith.” (Bg 8.28 purport)

“Adau sraddha—The first stage in devotional service is sraddha or faith. Without sraddha one cannot make any progress in devotional service. Or, in other words one cannot begin in devotional service. Here Srila Prabhupada emphasizes that faith means faith in the devotional scriptures and faith in the devotees who explain the devotional scriptures and apply them. And that faith is described in the verse we just read—just by engaging in devotional service one does not have to engage in other activities separately but one gets the result of  all the other activities just by engaging in devotional service. So that is faith. And that is just the beginning of Krishna consciousness. Advancement in Krishna consciousness really means development of faith.”

Bhagavad-gita 8.28, Houston

A video by Ananta Vrindavan of Indradyumna Swami's travelings.

Beautiful Vrindavana. Aerial shots of this holy place and its residents (5 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Philosophy is the highest, but even higher than philosophy is the practice of philosophy. So if you simply remain pure, your preaching will have effect. Letter to Brihaspati, November 15, 1971.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/y9xc1e

A brand new single-volume biography of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada, created to be marketed and accessible to the general public, was launched in New York City on May 19^th. The book, “Swami in a Strange Land: How Krishna Came to the West,” comes from publisher Mandala and author Joshua M. Greene (Yogesvara Das), a Prabhupada disciple, scholar and author of many books including George Harrison biography “Here Comes the Sun.”