Planet ISKCON

Images of His Divine Grace

Swamiji Gave Us Confidence

Prabhupada’s Gift of Intimacy

Evoking Memories of 1966

By Madhava Smullen

For thirty years, a very special Lord Nrsimhadeva Deity has protected the devotees of New Vrindaban and all of North America, and received their love and service.

Now, residents of the West Virginia village want to invite people from all over North America to come celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of His installation, and to behold the only full-size Nrsimha Deity on the continent, on His sacred appearance day.

Sculpted by artist Soma Das in New Vrindaban and installed in 1986, the ferocious half-man, half-lion Lord with his deep black skin and golden mane stands at a towering seven feet tall next to his boy devotee Prahlad – so the celebration is sure to be an awe-inspiring spectacle.

Although the original installation was on January 6^th, this year’s epic three-day anniversary festival will run from Friday May 20^th – Nrsimha Chaturdasi – to Sunday May 22^nd.

On the first day, all the devotees will bathe the full-size Deities with a variety of liquids including milk, yoghurt and ghee from New Vindaban’s own protected cows. During this maha-abhisekha, one thousand Nrsimha Kavachas will also be knotted together into one huge garland, and offered to the Lord.

On Saturday, the Nrsimha Kavacha mantra will be chanted 108 times during a fire sacrifice to invoke the feral Lord’s protection, and the thousand Kavachas will be distributed to the guests.

And on both days, there will be dramatic retellings of the story of Nrsimhadeva and Prahlad by award-winning storyteller Sankirtan Das; roaring kirtans, special Nrsimha aratis; and delectable feasts – with many of the community devotees bringing offerings from their homes. Sunday, meanwhile, will wrap things up with a Govardhana parikrama and Sunday Feast.

But perhaps one of the biggest treats of the festival will be the Nrsimha Katha on both Friday and Saturday. Senior Prabhupada disciples Urmila Dasi and Srutakirti Das will speak about Lord Nrsimhadeva’s loving pastimes; Soma Das and other early New Vrindaban devotees will share their memories of sculpting and installing the Lord thirty years ago.

Back then, Soma recalls, New Vrindaban devotees had longed to install Nrsimhadeva for protection for many years.

“Then one day, I was walking from Prabhupada’s Palace down to the old temple at Bahulaban,” he says. “I had already finished my japa, and I remembered reading in the Nectar of Devotion that performing service in your mind is as good as performing it in real life. I started to meditate on making a beautiful Nrsimhadeva Deity, and installing Him in a wonderful temple. So when I was asked later if I wanted to sculpt Him, I was over the moon!”

Like most of the pioneering devotees building up New Vrindaban at the time, Soma, then 32, had no professional experience or education in sculpting. Instead, he had learned on the job; his many sculptures, including a giant Gaura-Nitai and bas relief forms of Jaya and Vijaya, already adorned the community.

Beginning work on Lord Nrsimhadeva and Prahlad Maharaj in October 1985, he first formed the Lord from clay. While doing so, he consulted the Shilpa Shastra and other Vedic texts, particularly the descriptions of Nrsimha in Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam.

He also consulted Sri Vaishnava priest Sampat Kumar Bhattacharya, head of the Tirupati temple authority TTD, who had been personally praised for his expertise by Srila Prabhupada.

It “just so happened” that as Soma was sculpting Lord Nrsimhadeva, the Bhattacharya was visiting nearby Pittsburgh to open a South Indian temple there – the first time a Sri Vaishnava priest had ever done so outside of India.

“He came by, approved my work, and answered all my questions,” Soma says. “Like the whole process, it seemed like divine arrangement. It really felt like Lord Nrsimhadeva wanted to appear in New Vrindaban, and I was just working for Him. It didn’t even feel like I made Him.”

The Deity was completed quickly, in only three months. Kumar, Sudhanu and their mold shop crew made plaster molds from Soma’s clay original and poured in epoxy resin mixed with granite dust and ground-up West Virginia coal for the jet black color. Prahlad, meanwhile, was cast out of cultured white marble.

Although the devotees were pensive because there was only one chance for the cast to work, they breathed a sigh of relief and awe when on the fateful day, Kumar opened the molds to reveal the beautiful Deities of the Lord and His devotee.

“I remember we all ran over to see Him come out of the mold,” recalls Madhurya-lila Dasi. “It was amazing.”

Meanwhile, all the different Deity worship departments at New Vrindaban were in marathon mode as the installation date loomed.

Ishani headed up the jewelry workshop with a small core group, including Madhurya-lila, Gopi, and Janaki, and got help from anyone else she could. Her team created pieces by soldering brass or copper jewelry findings together, electroplating, cutting crystals to create jewels, and hammering relief designs by hand – all of it learned through books and on the job.

“We were working from 7 in the morning until probably 10 or 11 at night,” says Madhurya-lila. “And I’m pretty sure all of us pulled at least one all-nighter.”

Despite this, Madhurya-lila – who will also create the Lord’s jewelry for the 30^th anniversary — says she loved it. “There was a team spirit that I’ve rarely experienced anywhere else in my life. I would go back to that jewelry shop in a heartbeat. There’s no place I’d rather be.”

The result of all this dedicated teamwork was a gorgeous full set of golden jewelry set with red and green jewels for Prahlad and Nrsimhadeva: a large tubular crown, sudarshan chakra, conchshell, earrings, necklaces, arm and ankle bracelets, and tilak and belt. Ishani created the Lord’s eyes as well, along with Kuladri Das.

The Deity Sewing Department, headed by Adhara Dasi and her dedicated crew of women, also worked around the clock in the months leading up to the installation day, creating new outfits for the Lord and His boy devotee. These included a beautiful yellow dhoti and crimson chaddar lined with gold for the Lord, a purple dhoti with violet chaddar for Prahlad, and a velvet backdrop adorned with winding flowered vines.

For the installation on January 6^th, 1986 and surrounding three-day festival, hundreds of devotees from all over North America gathered for ecstatic chanting, dancing, feasting, dramas and more – just as they will on the 30^th anniversary celebration.

Gaura Keshava Das, a brahamana priest who had been trained in South India by Sampat Kumar amongst others, performed the elaborate installation rituals, including fire sacrifices in the yajnashala outside the temple, and Prana Pratistha.

“This involved touching the heart of the Deity, and inviting the Lord to please expand His heart and reside within the Deity, and accept the worship of the devotees,” Gaura Keshava recalls.

During this process, four strong devotees carried the 400-pound Lord into the temple room. A blindfold was removed and His eyes were ceremonially opened. He was then installed with much pomp upon a beautiful golden altar and throne cast by Kumar in New Vrindaban.

From then on, Lord Nrsimhadeva was very merciful to all the New Vrindaban devotees, and especially the Prahlad-like children – in the 1980s, the older gurukula boys would perform all His morning aratis, while once a week the women and younger boys and girls would worship Him.

Today, His early servants such as Srimati, Jayasri and Lokadristi continue to worship Him alongside new pujaris like Abhinandana Das.

And now, at this May’s unmissable 30^th anniversary celebration, we’ll all get to feel His love and protection, as we hear from those who were there how He appeared all those years ago in New Vrindaban.

Hanging Out at 26 Second Avenue

Amazing Harinam in the ancient city of Prague, Czech Republic (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the material world, everything is full of anxiety (kuntha), whereas in the spiritual world (Vaikuntha) everything is free from anxiety. Therefore those who are afflicted by a combination of anxieties cannot understand the Hare Krishna mantra, which is free from all anxiety. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 7.74 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Xrocx0

Setting the Scene for Bhagavad-gita (6 min video)
This is a video based on the “setting the scene” intro to Bhagavad-gita as it is. It was created by Jai Nitai dasa & Bhava Bhakti devi dasi for the ISKCON-London Bhakti Sastri Course.
Shaktyavesha Avatara Dasa: The Radha-Krishna Temple in London looks so gorgeous after refurbishment. Thank you for your beautiful service and steadiness Jai Nitai Prabhu and Bhava Bhakti Mataji and all those who put your heart into making Sri-Sri Radha-Londonisvara’s home so welcoming!
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Xrocx0

By Braja Vilas das

Dear Devotees and TOVP Donors,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Greetings from Sridham Mayapur and blessings from Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, Sri Panchatattva and Lord Nrsimhadeva.

Next Friday (May 20th) is the most auspicious appearance day of Lord Narasimhadeva, the half-man half-lion avatara who appeared to save Prahlad Maharaja. Lord Narasimhadeva has a very special mood of affectionate protection towards His devotees, and thus He is very dear to them. In fact, we constantly rely on His shelter. As Srila Prabhupada said,

“We should always consider that this material world is a dangerous place and therefore we shall chant Lord Narasimha’s Holy Name in order to be protected by Him in all dangers.”
(Letter to Himavati – 4 July, 1970)

Thirty years ago, after an attack on the temple by dacoits, the Mayapur community decided to install a unique Deity of Lord Narasimhadeva for protection. Both Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had previously advised other endangered temples to do the same. There are many forms of Lord Narasimhadeva according to His different pastimes and moods, some angry and some peaceful. He is worshiped in Mayapur in His Ugra-Narasimha mood, full of divine wrath.

This specific form emerging from the pillar, Sthanu-Narasimha, is especially fearsome and thus had not been worshipped anywhere for centuries. However, since this Narasimhadeva Deity is in Mayapur, He takes on the forgiving mood of Lord Chaitanya and blesses the sincere devotees with love for Krishna. Begging for this special mercy, Bhaktivinoda Thakur offered this beautiful prayer to Lord Nrsimhadeva:

Weeping, I will beg at the lotus-feet of Lord Narasimhadeva for the benediction of worshipping Radha and Krsna in Navadvipa, perfectly safe and free from all difficulties. When will this Lord Hari, whose terrible form strikes fear into fear itself ever become pleased and show me His mercy?
(Sri Navadvipa-bhava-taranga)
Narasimha Caturdasi is a very auspicious day to help us build Lord Narasimhadeva’s new home in the TOVP. The construction is now focusing on the dome above His altar and its support structure is nearly complete. The next step, one of the most glorious, will be to erect the kalashas on the apex of the domes. We are contracting a Russian company to build and carry out the finishing work for all three kalashas, which will be covered with genuine gold-plating and will truly be the crown-jewels of the TOVP.
It is absolutely essential to cap the domes and complete the kalashas so that the detailed interior work can begin. Once installed, they will increase the auspiciousness of the project, and attract the blessings of the Lord so that the temple can be quickly completed and He can enter and receive worship from His loving devotees.
Please consider making a contribution towards the kalash work. All donations received at this time are going specifically for that purpose. You can make your donation from this page on our website:
https://tovp.org/donate/
Yours in the Service of Sridham Mayapur,
 
Braja Vilas das   
Global Fundraising Director

Yet again the Lord Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladev and subhadra devi came out on to the streets in Karnal on 12th May 2016 to shower the people with their profuse blessings. Their Lordships passed through the main market area in full splendour and gave their Darsan to thousands of people. All the devotees and locals from all spheres of life got a chance to come together and serve the Lord to their hearts content.

The program started many days in advance. The local devotees regularly go out for sankirtan in the city and the nearby villages throughout the year. Their efforts were very well complemented by a group of international devotees who did harinam sankirtan, book distribution and flyers distribution informing the people about the Rath Yatra ceremony.

Srila Prabhupad says:

“From my very childhood I was also worshiping Lord Jagannatha. When I was six years old my father gave me a ratha and I was performing the Ratha yatra in my neighbourhood. And now in the western world you are worshiping Lord Jagannatha so gorgeously and it pleases me very, very much.”(SPL to Ravindra Swarupa, June ’74)

There is a large group of local devotees here including students and grhasthas who tirelessly worked to make the Ratha Yatra a very great success.

The Lord arrived at the Ratha which was decorated with profuse amount of flowers in a Mercedez . All the arrangements were complete to receive the Lord on to the Rath. Their Lordship were fed with sumptuous 56 bhoga (chappan Bhoga) offering. The chief guests Sri Amarendra Singh (OSD, CM Haryana), Srimati Renu Bala Gupta (Mayor, Karnal) and Sri Sher Singh (Dist. Jail Supdt.) offered arati to the Lord. They spoke few words of appreciation.

Vedic hymns were chanted, counchshells blown, coconuts bursted and the Ratha was on its way. It crossed over the beautiful Rangoli decorations designed by mataji’s group. Ecstatic kirtan sounded on all sides sung by our International group of devotees creating an atmosphere making everyone present prabhujis and matajis to dance in ecstacy.

Srila Prbhupada very well appreciated such a kirtana as he says:

“And our magic was simply this chanting and dancing; that’s all” (SPL to Batu Gopal, july ’71)

Huge quantity of prasad had been distributed nonstop from four sides on the Ratha. The distributed prasad included various kinds of fruits, fruit juices, dry sweets, lassi, flavoured milk, candies, laddus and sweets of various kinds. Thousands of people took Prasadam from the Ratha. The yatra concluded with Lord Jagannaths arti, and a sumptuous bhandara (full prasadam) was served which was honoured by a thousand people.

The credit for the Rath Yatra goes to Jagdananda Das and his team of devotees who under the guidance of senior guides has been managing the program since many years.

We pray to the Lord that we may be able to spread this Krisna Consciousness movement far and wide. Also we pray for the blessings from all the devotees all over the world in this endeavour.

Jagannath Swami ki Jai
Rath Yatra Mahamahotsava ki Jai
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai

—By Bhakta Aseem

Krishna conscious Mother’s day celebration 14/05/16 in Sri Jagannatha Mandir,ISKCON Malaysia (Album with photos)
HG Madhuri Tulasi Devi Dasi: Mother’s Day was celebrated very grandly recently in Sri Jagannath Mandir KL. This event was conducted on 14th of May 2016, Saturday at 6.30pm.
This isn’t an ordinary event where Mother’s Day is celebrated just with good food and nice gift. This was an event where all senior matajis were honored, glorified and appreciated; who has dedicated their time and energy in various ways in our temple for many years.
This celebration is also dedicated to Srila Prabhupada for his Iskcon’s 50th Anniversary. This also is to encourage and motivate the younger generations to take up more service for the pleasure of Their Lordships.
All the senior matajis were given a maha garland, a basket and a picture of Lord Nitai Sunder Gaurahari as a token of appreciation. Besides that, some matajis were truly happy when they won lucky draw.
The evening ended with a wide variety of sumptuous delicacies and prasadam prepared by all Mothers.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/jx0PKT

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The post Gauranga Prabhu in NVD appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The post Daily Darshan: May 16th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Destination Russia - Kirtan In The Motherland (5 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Srila Prabhupada once told Govinda dasi that in ancient Vedic times Russia was called the “Land of Rishi’s” because many yogis went to the frozen tundra’s of Russia to perform penance and austerities. These days Russia is being graced with Lord Caitanya’s mercy in the form of the chanting of Sri Krsna’s holy names. We witnessed this as we traveled to several cities in the Motherland where ISKCON temples are flourishing.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/bC5lum

Chant, Chant, Chant!
A great opportunity for devotees worldwide to offer your chanting to Sri Narasimhadeva!
On the day before Narasimha chaturdasi (19.05.16) the Maha Sudarshana Homa will take place at Sri Radha -Madhava temple courtyard at 10 am. The Sudharshana and Narasimha yantra will then be bathed with water infused with the Hare Krishna Maha mantra japa chanted by devotees. This water will be used the next day for the abhisheka of Lord Narasimha deva.
We request devotees worldwide to kindly start chanting their extra rounds of Japa from today or if you are already chanting extra rounds, you can send us the number of extra rounds you have chanted by e-mail to info@mayapur.com or by Whats app to +919593400192. Kindly send us the number of extra Japa before 19.05.16 – 7:00 am Indian time. Please mention your name (if initiated then the initiated name) along with the count. The Japa will be offered in that name to the Yantras. Kindly post this message in your facebook, share it to all your contacts, paste in your temple bulletin boards and reach as many people as you can.
“May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.”- Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.9

Thousands of people thronged the street in Rupnagar on 14th May 2016 to deliver a very warm reception for Lord Jagannath , Baladev and Subhadra devi for the first time ever, seated on a chariot, in this relatively smaller district of Punjab.

Rupnagar commonly known by name Ropar is located on the banks of the river Sutlej besides Shivaliks. It boasts of one of the richest archaeological site of the Indus valley civilization with records dating back to the period of the Mahabharata. This city is also well known for its Gurudwaras.

Devotees from different parts of India and abroad arrived well in advance to prepare for the festival. The devotees reached every corner of the city with harinam and Prabhupad books, informing locals about the Rath yatra festival.

On the day of Rath yatra entire Rupnagar seemed to be present on the streets. Each and every individual irrespective of his faith came to have darshan of Lord Jagannath, took prasad from the rath and joined in pulling it. The concentration of people on the rope once reminded us of the Puri Rath yatra. The ecstatic nonstop and energetic kirtan along with enthusiastic book distribution made the entire atmosphere extremely vibrant. The occasion was very well beautified by the presence of rangolis and festoons down the lane. Lords rath was also well decorated with most aromatic of flowers. Around 5000 people had darsan of the Lord.

The interest and service attitude the local people displayed can be gauged by seeing the numerous stalls set up to distribute various items like sweet water, pakoras, ice cream, chana, various drinks etc. during the course of the Rath. The festival was concluded with a delicious love feast.

The credit for this Rath yatra goes chiefly to Rangeshwar Das adhikari (Dr. Ramjee Repaka, Associate professor, IIT Ropar, a disciple of H. H. Bhaktiswarup Damodar Swami) along with disciples of Srimad Subhag Swami Maharaj who under the guidance and inspiration from His Holiness arranged for the entire program.

We hope that this Rath yatra is successful in igniting a fire of curiosity in the minds of local people to know more about this very confidential yet most easily obtainable devotional service at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna.

We pray to the devotees for their blessings so that we may be able to spread Prabhupad’s message of Krishna Consciousness in one more town in India.

Jagannath Swami ki Jai
Rath Yatra Mahamahotsava ki Jai
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai

—By Bhakta Aseem

Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu e-magazine #375: Rare prayers to Nrisimha, and on Qualification of Guru.
The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu e-magazine was just released. This issue includes:
* FAITH AND THE GURU’S QUALIFICATION – Teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
* SHORTCOMINGS OF THE PATH OF DRY ARGUMENT – Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada speaks about problems in finding a guru.
* GURU CAN FREE THE DISCIPLE FROM DOUBT – Various commentaries on Srimad Bhagavatam 11.3.21. Some translated here for Bindu for the first time.
* ALL GLORIES TO LORD NRISIMHA – Assorted verses translated for the first time for this issue from a rare book known as Subhasita-ratna-bhandagaram.
* BEYOND FAME, INFAMY AND EXPECTATIONS – A fresh translation from Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati’s Vrindavana-mahimamrtam (3.56). It can be downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/bindu375

May 16. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Magnanimity of the Maha Bhagavata.
Sometimes he’s lecturing and he says, “Yes, come in, sit down.” That would be for a hippie who was deciding whether to come into the storefront or not, and who would look like he was eligible for sitting down and hearing Bhagavad-gita if he really wanted. He might be on an LSD trip or just not wanting to actually become part of the group, and yet he wanted to check it out – so Prabhupada invited him to step over the barrier and actually become a listener. He might invite him to sit down, but they did not always want to come under the Swami’s control, even to take a seat when he asked them.
The Swami was fearless. He was convinced that his message was relevant and had to be spoken. It was his show, he was in control, but he had to protect himself, especially in the beginning. It is not that the devotees were completely ready to be on his side, so he had to control the whole thing and say, “Don’t disturb, don’t disturb.” He depended on Krishna and went on speaking the difficult-to-understand philosophy – concepts of Bhagavad-gita and the assertion that Krishna is God. He just went right ahead without watering it down in the least.
You couldn’t understand it all, but you stayed and listened to him. You caught a word here and there, Caitanya, Krishna; missed a word here and there. I can recall thinking that I did not understand very much of it.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

Magnanimity of the Maha Bhagavata

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 May 2016, Vrndavana, India, Bhagavad-gita 3.34)

Prabhupada used the traffic metaphor for spiritual life and I like this metaphor. It is like this, you start driving in the night – no light and it is pitch dark. You cannot see anything of the road. All that you see are the white lines. There are white lines and you drive within the white lines. These are the white lines of the regulative principles, of the rules and the regulations and it is all about rules and regulations. There are traffic rules too. You stick to a certain side of the road, to a certain speed; many issues are there, one way streets and so on, all to regulate us. All this knowledge helps us to not smash into something.

As we continue to drive, the light of the sun rises above the horizon and everything changes because at that stage, the landscape becomes visible. “Ah, nice mountain. Ah, look at that lake. Looks cool. Not bad, nice place.”

So we are driving along, still between the white lines but no longer with the same exclusive focus. As we make advancement, the regulative principles remain but the regulative principles do not become our main focus.

Like we are the International Society of Krsna Consciousness, we are not the International Society for Regulative Principles. If we would be, then we can spend the whole day looking at each other and pointing out (Indian accent), “Things are not correct. Not correct. No! So much sorry but it is not correct, according to the Nectar of Devotion. It is not correct, it is not allowed according to Nectar of Devotion. Nahi mana hai.” What to do! These things are there.

There are so many rules and we can spend our days policing each other and have an interesting society like that where everyone looks at his neighbour to see if they are breaking any rules and if so, then we can tell about it because immediately that gives us a platform of superiority! Then we are higher. The rules and regulations are very popular. It is a great tool to elevate ourselves above others and in this way, India also fell in that trap because that is what the smartas were doing basically. Smarta brahmanas are overly attached to rules and regulations; it is called niyam agraha, all about rules and regulations.

Rules and regulations do not serve the higher purpose of developing Krsna consciousness. We do follow the rules and regulations but Krsna consciousness is ultimately the path of love. It is the path of love, of awakening love!

By Radha Mohan das

Reflections on the future

As everyone knows, today the Internet is the principle mode of local and international communication, especially for younger generations. It has been with us for about 25 years now yet in such a short time from an historical point of view it has had a profound impact on nearly all individuals, organisations, governments, businesses and institutions. ISKCON, of course, is no exception.
Recently I was reading Religion Online- Finding Faith on the Internet, a series of essays edited by Canadian academics Lorne Dawson and Douglas Cowan. One essay by Elena Larson records that “25% of Internet users have gotten religious or spiritual information online at one point or another”. (The percentage is higher for those users aged 30 and under). Other essays discuss issues such as whether ancient traditions are trivialized or strengthened by ‘cyber-rites’ and other online religious activities.

The seriousness of the topic should not be underestimated. The success Facebook ad Whatsapp are surely a signs of the role technology will play in the future of many religious organizations. After all, spending hours on the Internet everyday does, of course, include many members of ISKCON’s youth peer groups such as the Gurkulis and Pandava Sena.

In a recent interview I helped conduct about ISKCON, Professor Kim Knott of Leeds University in the UK stated that the “electronic presence can be very, very important for [devotees].” Indeed, this area is critical to ISKCON’s future given that there are few Temples compared to the amount of general interest in Krishna Consciousness.

In another interview I helped conduct, Ranchor Prime prabhu from London noted “the circumstances of the world today are so different from what they were when all the major religious traditions were incubated”. Therefore, potentially the Internet and other technologies will affect religious groups more than anything else. For instance, today many religions are relatively free from political and geographical limitations like never before in their histories. It could well be that the future of faith itself will be understood increasingly less by buildings, festival attendance and other functions but more by its online presence.

ISKCON has especially developed a strong relationship with the Internet because of the emphasis on darshan in front of our beautiful shrines, the vibrancy and colour of our festivals, profound philosophy, emphasis on sound vibration, there are many who have a connection with Krishna who are not close to the institution, the belief that nearly anything can be ‘used in Krishna’s service’ and our large youth following.

Despite the fact that we aim to represent an ancient spiritual tradition, devotees are not shy when it comes to using the Internet. For example, sites such as www.Mayapur.tv provide live web cams of Temple room activities around the world, simultaneously. That site, for the first time, in 2010 provided full live coverage of the huge Janmashtami festival at Bhaktivedanta Manor. Even some people living locally to the Manor chose to experience the festival through the Internet rather than driving through the festival traffic and negotiating the darshan queuing system.
Inspired by sites such as http://secondlife.com, I have learned that there are devotees who are exploring the idea of creating completely virtual Temples online- – that is, Temples that do not exist elsewhere that can be explored by members via a representation of oneself in the form of a three-dimensional model, called an Avatar. (This sense of the word was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, who co-opted it from the Sanskrit, which he felt was a concept similar to that of an incarnation).

Once developed these online communities will be able to visit the Temple room, view beautiful deities, listen to devotional music, listen to lectures and even browse through simulated Temple gardens.

Despite the fact that technology offers exciting new opportunities it does bring serious challenges regarding how to quantify, define and monitor our membership whilst preaching and maintaining an ancient tradition in a modern world, and using modern methods.

In the absence of the older generations of Hindus who support Temples for cultural and traditional reasons, the future of some of our larger Temples in the West may well have to deal with declining attendance. This may lead to the majority of donations made online, in exchange for enhanced online facilities.

It might be argued that some cultural activities such as the sixteen samskaras can never be replaced by online equivalents, but other activities may be more border-line. One example is seeking online astrological guidance for the most auspicious time to have a ceremony instead of consulting a local guru or Brahmin, as would be the tradition.

Now, if a devotee chooses to witness the arati ceremony of his favourite deity through his computer screen, can he receive the same spiritual benefits and ‘blessings’ as if he were physically present? Would it be worth any more if he were able to interact with the images on his computer, as people do when playing on a home video game console such as Wii?

Vaishnava philosophy accepts the omnipresence of God in the form of Ksirodakasayi Vishnu, who, as the Supersoul in everyone’s heart is aware of the sincerity of the individual souls. It could be argued, therefore, that the physical attendance of religious events is not of primary importance.

That brings in the question of whether an individual can form a genuine relationship with Krishna without committing their physical body to any activity. There is some room for this in Vaishnava philosophy. For example, influenced by the 1999 Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix, In Maya- The World as Virtual Reality Sadaputa das compares the Vedic view of this observable universe to an advanced virtual reality program. In his book, virtual reality is used as a metaphor for our situation as conscious beings. The basic theme is that what we can imagine doing in a virtual reality computer system may actually be happening in nature on a vastly greater scale. Given that the Vedic understanding of the experienced world via our bodily senses is temporary and illusionary, the comparison made by Sadaputa das is highly justifiable. Using the Vedic philosophy, then, one could argue that online activities are no less valid than anything else in this material world.

In my own experience, there are a range of opinions on these issues but there is an increasing openness to the Internet from both conservative and liberal-minded devotees. Yet Vaishnavism, of which ISKCON is part, is clearly a culture as well as a philosophy. This culture includes a high level of etiquette, family values, working together in a community and other important forms of human interaction. Visiting a Temple physically includes an holistic experience. For example; taking off your shoes before entering, smelling the incense, ringing the bell to alert the deity of one’s presence, bowing down, eating prasad, meeting the devotees and performing physical devotional service. Significantly, darshan is a Sanskrit term meaning sight and in the context of visiting a Temple it means not seeing God but being seen by God.

It is impossible to imitate such experiences online (at least with current technology) and there are no restrictions in place to prevent the participant from polluting his ‘home pilgrimage’ with detrimental activities such as eating and dressing inappropriately in front of the computer screen, thus vastly reducing or even reversing the spiritual benefits.

Even in terms of “online dating” and the like, eventually there has to be a physical meeting of the people. Similarly, clearly spiritual life cannot take place solely on the Internet.
But the pitfalls of expressing faith through the Internet is not necessary a valid reason for us to turn away and embrace only traditional methods of devotion. The actual dynamism of being the Hare Krishna movement is that it has to move and that includes moving with the times and adapting accordingly.

Our challenge is how to fully explore the potential of the Internet but also be ready to draw or recommend boundaries for our youth in order to keep a healthy and practical balance between the physical and cyber worlds. Despite our ethos of living a simple and more natural way of life along with the running of farms without the use of machinery, we will unreservedly use all the technology at our disposal for the highest and most urgent purpose – to expand the mission of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Vraja Kishor is our very own “home grown tomato”,  so to speak. He’s been a student at TKG Academy since he entered our preschool class 10 years ago. This year he turned 14 and has pioneered the re-opening of our high school class. 

Vraja is a very scholarly student. His mature demeanor and focus on his academics has earned him much respect among his classmates. 

Under the tutelage of Mother Krishna Priya, he has practiced his already-naturally-developed public speaking skills. While many of us get nervous when standing before an audience, Vraja doesn’t break a sweat! He keeps his calm and delivers his message very clearly. 

On May 14, he participated in the DFW Speech Tournament, presenting the sad state of poverty and homeless young children in India.  He highlighted the important work of the team behind the Grammy-nominated CD, “Bhakti Without Borders”. In preparation for his speech, he interviewed Madi Das and Gaura Mani Mataji. In his talk, he described the importance of the Sandipani Muni School in Vrindavan Dham, the land of Krishna. He won the hearts of his audience and was placed in the finals. He won 7th place in the Informatory Speech category. The judge commented: “Very important topic! It’s so important for children in America to be aware of what their young counterparts in other countries are going through.”

Way to go, Vraja! 

 

 

Museum Night. Exhibition of Indian miniatures. Barnaul, Altai Krai, Russia, 14/05/16 (Album with photos)
“Museum Night” - an annual event dedicated to the International Museum Day. Altai museums, large and small, open their doors in the evening and at night, as well as prepare a special program. Vaisnavas try not to miss such a great chance to present Vaishnava culture and participate in this great promotion. At this time, devotees staged an exhibition of Indian miniatures “Flute Song” in one of their art galleries. Traditional Indian painting on rice paper. 21 miniature protagonists that Radha-Krishna! … Collection mataji Mathurachandriki. She collected this collection to India trips. The exhibition included art photographs as well made the pilgrimage to the holy places of India:. In the cities of Jagannath Puri, Vrindavan and South India tour Mataji Mathurachandrika Devi Dasi, a student of EM Chaitanya Chandra Charan Prabhu is the author of the book - “Travels with Gurudev.” It Mathurachandrika dd for the past several years of design and publication of books Chaitanya Chandra Charan Prabhu, helping him to collect material for the publication of books and distribute them. Also we participated in the exhibition of the work of our wonderful artist Lakshmisundari dd Very nice and elegant drawing. Her spiritual teacher HH Bhaktivaibhava Swami blessed her to continue her spiritual creativity and often he appreciates her paintings when coming to our city. Specially built a makeshift stage for us, where we have three hours to chant the Holy Names, meeting the public who came to gallery in search of spiritual sustenance. And she found it here! Lovely bhajans outside, face-painting with henna, and distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books. At the entrance they were treated to delicious maha-prasadam sweet balls, then they could see the picture of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, and to take part in an excursion to the history of culture of Vaishnavism and hear stories about the ancient deities and saints.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/MVYNar

ISKCON-Delhi: Sita Navami Maha Abhishek : 15-05-2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The process of chanting the holy name of the Lord is always superbly effective, but it is especially effective in this age of Kali. All the great authorities of bhakti-yoga recommend the devotional process beginning with the chanting of the holy name of Krishna (tan-nama-grahanadibhih). (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.1.21 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tvoyi5

Grand Opening of the new Krishna Cultural Center – An ISKCON 50 Event.
Saturday, May 14th 2016, 5:00PM
Krishna Cultural Center – 2407 W Boise Ave, Boise, ID.
A grand opening ceremony of the new new Krishna Cultural Center, an extension to the existing temple, commemorating 50 years of ISKCON will be held on May 14, 2016 starting 5PM. We have Tulasi Mandir, Library, Kitchen, hall, Guest House and Harinam Park in this new facility.
There will be ribbon cutting ceremony by Lt.Governor Brad Little. Senior ISKCON sannyasis His Holiness Badrinarayana Svami and His Holiness Hanumat Presaka Svami will also honor the occasion.
This event is open to the public and from entry to food are all free. Attractions of the evening: Gifts (For first 500 ony!), Live Music, Balloons, Face Painting, Dances, Vegetarian Food.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/C9ONL8

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Iskcon Kuching Sarawak Free Food For Life At 7th Mile Market Today (15 May 2016)
Srila Prabhupada: In this age human beings only live for sixty or eighty years, and even this small life-span is gradually decreasing. Therefore it is even more imperative for human beings to take to the worship of the lotus feet of the Lord by constantly chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, as recommended by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.24.67 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ulJW97

By Gour Govinda Swami

It was appearing like a flower garland on the chest of Nrsimhadeva. It seems as if a lion had killed an elephant. So many of Hiranyakasipu’s soldiers came out to fight against the Lord, but the Lord, with His sharp nails, tore them apart and all were killed. There are many descriptions. “Lord Nrsimhadeva’s mouth and mane were sprinkled with drops of blood, and His fierce eyes, full of anger, were impossible to look at. Licking the edge of His mouth with His tongue, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nrsimhadeva, decorated with a garland of intestines taken from Hiranyakasipu’s abdomen, resembled a lion that has just killed an elephant.” (SB 7.8.30 ) ” The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who had many, many arms, first uprooted Hiranyakasipu’s heart and then threw him aside and turned toward the demon’s soldiers. These soldiers had come in thousands to fight with Him with raised weapons and were very faithful followers of Hiranyakasipu, but Lord Nrsimhadeva killed all of them merely with the ends of His nails.” (SB 7.8.31 ) Continue reading "Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Appearance Day
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(English/Hungarian)

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