Planet ISKCON

Harinam Sankirtan in Cologne, Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: A devotee, either in danger or in happiness, constantly chants the Hare Krishna mantra. When he is in danger he is immediately relieved, and when he is in a position to see Lord Vishnu or His associates directly, by chanting this maha-mantra he can please the Lord. This is the absolute nature of the maha-mantra. Either in danger or in happiness, it can be chanted without limitation. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.12.21 Purport)
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May 6. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Soul Eyes of Prabhupada.
One devotee wrote to me appreciating my poem about Srila Prabhupada’s gaze, Soul Eyes. He said, however, that he never saw Prabhupada’s eyes, and he considered it a great loss in his life. I consoled him and told him there were many wonderful photos to meditate on Prabhupada’s eyes and form. There’s also film footage of his moving body, an expressive feature. There’s also an oversize book of special photos called Srila Prabhupada Art Book, which one can spend hours gazing over Prabhupada’s beautiful body. Even when Prabhupada’s health diminished and his face became emaciated he maintained nobility in his features, and his face was very grave.
Devotees can also ease their separation by getting together and talking about his qualities and pastimes on occasions such as his appearance and disappearance days. Srila Prabhupada personally said, “If you want to know me, read my books.” So a devotee should not think he has lost out just because he was not present when Prabhupada was still alive in his physical presence here.
By the means available through vani (instruction in sound vibration), many second-generation disciples have developed relationships equal to and even greater than first-generation disciples.
Srila Prabhupada wrote in one letter explaining the principles of vapu and vani: “… Presence of the transcendental sound received from the spiritual master should be the guidance of life.” He also told us that we could place his picture on his sitting places and this would give us solace. The main factor in developing association with Prabhupada is attaining the stage of wanting to please him. He is still living and open to reciprocate with devotees who wish to serve him. This is accomplished in standard ways and by accepting him as one’s śikṣā guru or primary guru, and obeying his instructions regarding the rules and regulations. One also pleases Srila Prabhupada by taking up the preaching spirit and working in cooperation with others in the sankirtana movement. Prabhupada’s reciprocal gaze of “soul eyes” is still available to the earnest soul who yearns to please Prabhupada and comes before him in the available methods of service in separation.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

Soul Eyes of Prabhupada

Written by Nandan

Srimad Bhagavatam 7.8.18

The second day of the festivities and it was a bright but nippy morning. Guru Puja had just finished, the temple room was packed to overflowing and Maharaj strode in to give the morning class from the 7^th Canto. It was all about the mentality of Hiranyakashipu. Quite a macabre subject but Maharaj has an uncanny ability of making such topics shockingly pertinent for devotees. Initially he spoke from the demonic viewpoint – how Hiranyakashipu was not able to fully appreciate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He was such a powerful individual; yet so intimidating and nasty.

At that point Maharaj made it relevant by bringing Hiranyakashipu’s traits onto us. The demonic qualities are not something far removed but are actually within us. Hiranyakashipu may be the prototype but there is also the inner Hiranyakashipu.

The Rg Veda may say, “Let us look upon all with loving eyes.” But we look upon others with pride thinking, “Who does he think he is?” Maharaj put forward that we often think that lust our greatest main battle but actually it is envy which brings us down; all the way down to the animalistic platform. Always ready to fight! Envy can also be indirect like Maharaj’s famous story of the wolf verbally harassing the lamb just because the lamb was drinking water from the same river! There was nothing the lamb had which the wolf wanted but just his existence was enough to aggravate the wolf – envy on a deep, deep existential level. Maharaj then did a rib tickling impression of the wolf chastising the lamb. It was brilliant; the attitude, the deep voice, the ‘British villain’ accent. Even Maharaj’s natural aquiline features went perfectly with the impression.

Further elaboration on envy was to come. Envy is like who are you?! (In a challenging tone). Who are you to step into my house! Over my fence! And so on. Maharaj recalled how on sankirtan he approached someone who retorted, “Who are you! Who are you to even talk to me! I DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU!!” Maharaj quipped that the guy didn’t just have a fence around his house; he had a fence around his head!! It is interesting that Maharaj gave the example of hostile people cooped up in their closed homes surrounded by unwelcome fences. It seemed like a very Western European scenario. Being from Britain, I can identify with this mentality. And since Maharaj hails from the Netherlands, one gets the feeling that growing up there, he must have encountered a lot of this mentality – the mercenary culture of self-interest, being isolated from each other and hiding behind one’s physical and psychological fences.

But vaisnavas are different, a vaisnava has generosity; like Srila Prabhupada dealing with all those hippies, tolerantly, patiently and lovingly.  At this point Maharaj recalled his famous ‘chapatti story’ from his days as the manager of the Vrindavan restaurant. He was literally shoved into being the new manager. To spice things up, a bunch of rough, rugged and very hungry Vrajabasi villagers came bowling in, demanding a hundred or so chapattis – no airs, graces, politeness or patience. Just bring those chapattis!! Needless to say, the kitchen was like a pressure cooker. Maharaj admitted he got really pushed around by those villagers and inevitably he was passing that stress and aggro onto the kitchen staff. As if things couldn’t get any worse, the head chef finally delivered the coup de grace. Just when Maharaj was at breaking point, screaming out for the chapattis; the cook burst out of one of the kitchen cupboards and squared up to Maharaj with a big, fat grin. At the end of his thumb was a piece of moulded dough in the shape of a joker. He wiggled it at Maharaja, shaking his head and well… you know the rest!! No chapattis, no cook and some very hungry, rustic villagers. Haribol!! The devotees were in raptures from Maharaj’s narration. He has mentioned the incident so many times, but it never stops being hilarious even though it must have been nightmarish at the time.

Of course, that was many years ago and Maharaj reflected that whilst it was hard for him, he also did not behave like a human being in that situation. He was really pushing his staff and was so rigid and strict. One can’t be so rigid; one has to also be soft like chapatti dough, malleable in the hands of the vaisnavas, Maharaj recommended. This is another theme seen in Maharaj’s lectures and conversations over the last couple of years – this sense of reflection over one’s dealings, the need to be loving towards each other, appreciating the devotees and not blowing them out. Maharaj often brings up his own dealings from the past as a way for us to learn from, so history does not repeat itself.

No doubt, Maharaj was a ‘full on’ character back in the day. But we also should consider the social environment of the time, the pressure those devotees were under as well as the personal purification they were all going through. After so many years, it is wonderful Maharaj can subject himself to such self-examination and then reveal it for future generations to scrutinise!

The class continued with deep points made on various issues. As always there was pin drop silence. I’ve always loved Maharaj’s classes. That is what initially attracted me to Maharaj. But for some reason, the classes Maharaj has been giving this year seem to be on a whole new level. One can meditate on what Maharaj has said in this year’s classes endlessly. Although Maharaj prefers talking about the beautiful, sublime aspects of Krsna consciousness; even those classes where Maharaj has spoken about the unsavoury aspects of life such as our demonic consciousness have been terrific. This class was no different. The level of insight and profoundness Maharaj has on the human psyche is staggering.

Maharaj finished of the class saying that he had a late morning due to the previous night’s kirtans, so he needed some ‘me time’ to chant rounds for the initiations ceremony which took place later that day.

Alachua, Florida is already home to the largest group of ISKCON members in North America, with some 500 congregational families. Now devotees are planning an intentional devotional community there for couples or singles aged 55 and over. Prabhupada disciple Kirtiraja Das is developing the project as its managing director. He has worked as a realtor for the past twenty years, and like many of the senior devotees who have relocated to Alachua, he wants to downsize and simplify.

Appreciation only costs you a few words, but what it buys is priceless. When Dale Carnegie said to be appreciated is the greatest human need, those who paid attention found appreciation one of the greatest motivating forces known to man. Years of research has taught us this important lesson: if you don't pay people enough that they feel secure in life, you will get a small percentage of their creative abilities because they are worried about their future. So, it would seem logical that if those people were paid enough, you would tap into their full creative potential. The research shows this is not the case. What inspires people to give more, do more and be more is that they feel valued. Enthusiasm and productivity increase in relation to the appreciation people are given. Mother Teresa said the greatest hunger in the world is the hunger for love. Continue reading "Appreciation. What you appreciate in others, appreciates in you and your company
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Mistakes why we make them and how we can rectify them? To err is human … " so goes the saying. Safely we can add three more details to the list: tendency to fall under illusion, cheating propensity and imperfect senses. A conditioned soul is bound by these imperfections, but in this article I will focus on the tendency to commit mistakes. All of us make mistakes. Srila Prabhupada says that to make a mistake is not wrong, but to make a mistake and not learn from it, that is wrong. Continue reading "Rectifying Mistakes by Repentance
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As many of you know, Lord Caitanya is Krsna Himself in the role of a devotee. He is Krsna, but with the complexion and mood of Srimati Radharani. There are different purposes for the Lord's advent. The internal reason for Lord Caitanya's appearance was that He wanted to experience the glory of Srimati Radharani's love for Him, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She experiences the sweetness of His love for Her--which only She can experience. The external reason (not that it was any less significant) was to propagate the yuga-dharma, the recommended method for God realization in each particular age (yuga). To assist the Lord in His pastimes, four principal associates descended with Him--Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Srivasa Thakura, and Gadadhara Pandita. Together with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu they comprise the Panca-tattva. Continue reading "Sri Gadadhara Pandita
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A mother’s lesson in gratitude.
Radhanath Swami: When I was a little boy, my mother taught me a lesson. She always emphasized, more than anything else, the quality of gratitude. She told me, “If you are not grateful for whatever you have, you receive, you can never be happy. Because if you are not grateful, whatever you get, you expect something else, or you expect more, or you think that you deserved it. But when you are humble and grateful, then whatever comes to your life, the apparent fortune and misfortune, you can actually find happiness in that situation. We could actually be able to see the opportunity that there is to grow in that situation.”
On her birthday one year, I forgot all about it. So I ran to the backyard where my mother had her rose garden. She had exactly 6 rose bushes growing, because we had only a very small backyard; she grew the roses herself. And I took one of the roses, snapped it off, and ran to my mother. I gave her the rose and wished her a happy birthday.
She started to cry in joy. She was so happy that I gave her the rose, even though I stole it from her. She didn’t need it, but the fact that it was offered with affection melted her heart. And she told me, “It’s not the thing that counts; it’s the thought that counts.” Things could never bring any fulfillment to the heart. Only love brings fulfilment to the heart.

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Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Russia. (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Decorate the Deity as nicely as possible with nice flowers and dress. You will forget all other false beauty. Letter to Kirtanananda, October 22, 1968.
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Preaching program with BB Govinda Swami in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest metropolis (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Sri Krishna Caitanya, who was outwardly very fair, with a complexion like molten gold, simultaneously manifested His eternal associates, opulences, expansions and incarnations. He preached the process of chanting Hare Krishna and those who are under His lotus feet are glorious. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 3.79 Purport)
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Presentation From the TOVP Architecture and Design Department in Pune, India, with Sadbhuja Prabhu (7 min video)
Sadbhuja prabhu discusses the systematic procedure for the next stage of the embellishments for the TOVP with the architecture & design department in Pune.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/2hbiiy

Always remember Krishna and never forget Him!
Srila Prabhupada: Pious activity is on the material platform, but chanting of the holy name of Krishna is completely on the spiritual plane. Therefore although pasandis do not understand this, pious activity can never compare to the chanting of the holy name. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 3.79 Purport)

Curious to see if I was an authentic Brit I recently attempted the Life in the Uk test that the government requires aspiring new British citizens to take. To my great relief I passed it with 90%, only falling down on a question of how long was the hundred years war. I can’t see many people knowing that it was actually 116 years nor indeed how relevant to being British that knowledge is. I would think it better to test prospective citizens on their ability to talk about the weather or perhaps on their queuing technique.

Although born in London, after coming to the spiritual path of Krishna consciousness I now believe that Britishness, Frenchness, Chineseness or any other such designation only pertains to the temporary body. According to Krishna who spoke the ancient Sanskrit text of Bhagavad-gita, we are eternal spiritual beings living in material bodies, and in that respect we are all the same.  Krishna even offers a little test of his own that we can all do to show the truth of this. Observe, he suggests, how the body changes quite radically from a baby to youth to old age, and yet you remain the same person. Now in my sixties I vividly see the truth of that wisdom. I don’t feel any different now to when I was thirty, but my aging body begs to differ. As Oscar Wilde once said, the problem with old age is not that you are old, but that you are young.

The unchanging self within the body is, I understand, who I really am and as Krishna explains this might take many forms in so many lifetimes. What is called British now will in due course become simply dust or ashes, and I will have moved on to who knows where. So instead of being British and proud, with my 90% pass mark, I am now simply trying my best to be a humble spirit soul.

Sankirtan on 3rd St Promenade, LA (Album with HR photos)
Devotees of New Dwaraka, Los Angeles temple, go out on harinam sankirtan every Friday night to the 3rd St Promenade in Santa Monica Beach. Photos taken April 29th, 2016.
Srila Prabhupada: One should never consider the chanting of the holy name of Godhead equal to pious activities like giving in charity to brahmanas or saintly persons, opening charitable educational institutions, distributing free food and so on. The results of pious activities do not equal the results of chanting the holy name of Krishna. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 3.79 Purport)
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May 5. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: The Swami’s Arrival Went Mostly Unnoticed.
The Swami’s arrival went unnoticed. The neighbors said someone new had taken the gift shop next to the laundry. There was a strange picture in the window now but no one knew what to make of it. Some passers-by noticed a piece of paper announcing classes in Bhagavad-gita taped to the window. A few stopped to read it, but no one knew what to make of it. They didn’t know what Bhagavad-gita was, and the few who did thought, “Maybe a yoga bookstore or something.” The Puerto Ricans in the neighbourhood would look in the window at Harvey Cohen’s painting and then blankly walk away. The manager of the Mobil gas station next door couldn’t care less who had moved in – it just didn’t make any difference. The tombstone-sellers and undertakers across the street didn’t care. And for the drivers of the countless cars and trucks that passed by, Swamiji’s place didn’t even exist. But there were young people around who had been intrigued with the painting, who went up to the window to read the little piece of paper. Some of them even knew about the Bhagavad-gita, although the painting of Lord Caitanya and the dancers didn’t seem to fit. A few thought maybe they would attend Swami Bhaktivedanta’s classes and check out the scene.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=8

The Swami’s Arrival Went Mostly Unnoticed

“One of the attributes that the spirit soul has that makes one unique and beautiful to Krishna is free will and the way you choose to use it. It is always yours and shows your relationship with Krishna. Free will gives meaning to love. Without free will you are a prisoner. Love means: I choose you—you are special to me. That also means I have the right to refuse you. If I choose you that makes the choosing more meaningful. It’s not that we are giving up our free will. But we approach a spiritual master and say. ‘I am confused please instruct me.'”

—Jivananda Dasa

———————
Intiation Introduction by Giriraj Swami
Intiation talk by Jivananda Dasa
Intiation talk by Sandamani Dasi
Intiation talk by Giriraj Swami
Name Giving Ceremony

By Daamodara Dhananjaya Das

Outreach – How to beget devotees from a Rathayatra During one of our meetings between GBC-SPN (Strategic Planning Network) Outreach Committee and the ISKCON Congregational Development Ministry, the subject matter of discussion was how to improve our outreach during the festivals that we celebrate in ISKCON. It has been observed that most of our festivals are successful in creating a majestic impression in the minds of the people, but fail to generate new devotees in a large number. In spite of so much time, labor, money and intelligence being used in each festival, we remain almost unproductive. Especially our Rathayatras are celebrated with a great pomp and circumstance, but they hardly yield any fruits in terms of new devotees. Hence, the GBC-SPN Outreach Committee, in collaboration with the Congregational Development Ministry, designed a process to generate contacts during the Rathayatras and thus, make them worth all the expenditure.

Before we get into the technical details, here are some practical examples of the process, successfully implemented at various places. The first implementation was at Mathura Rathayatra during the month of Kartik in the year 2015. A team of 15+ devotees was exclusively engaged in this sublime task to generate contacts. A database of approximately 400 new contacts was registered at the end of the celebration, which followed another dedicated outreach program, especially to cultivate these contacts, after around a month. ISKCON Ahmedabad implemented it twice during the Rathayatras, while celebrating the annual function, and produced a contacts database with approximately 500 entries. Very recently the same exercise was carried out with an improved modus operandi during the first ever Rathayatra at ISKCON Vapi – Gujarat, which yielded approximately 800 quality contacts to a team of 20 dedicated preachers, who carried out this mission. The feedback of the devotees who participated in this project, invariably has been extremely delightful and now this has turned out to be one of their favorite services to take. They were completely satisfied and were contented with the idea that they could be instrumental in bringing new souls to Krishna Consciousness. We, as a committee, will track their results and follow up for gathering their statistics, so as to report to the GBC.

Now let us understand the step by step procedure to implement the same:

1) Gather a team of preachers who are well conversant in the local language, with a
pleasing personality, who are humble and tolerant, clear in their basics and responsible,
as these could be (ideally – should be) the future mentors/counselors of the new
contacts that they would generate in the process. Please remember, better the
preachers – better the outcome. Hence, kindly do not underestimate this process and
please give this service a higher priority in your list.
2) Each preacher should have a separate dress code or something unique in their
appearance if possible and should carry a kit which has:
a) A handbag (Sankirtan bag)
b) A cap for protecting them from the heat (these could be uniquely colored caps, so as
to differentiate them from the others)
c) A pen and a writing support pad
d) An I-Card holder and a printed I-card with the heading such as ‘May I Assist You?’
e) Handouts / leaflets / handbills – with the information about the temple/center, the
programs being conducted during the weekdays, festivals, services, specialties,
Govindas, etc. (whatever you wish to project). Also, add basic information about our
philosophy and the importance of Sankirtan yagna, Mahamantra and so on.
f) Printed cards with the picture of the Deities on one side and the Mahamantra on the
other or some other gifts like small books, key rings, etc.
g) Small and decent packets of dry Mahaprasadam, with a print of Lord Jagannatha on
the packet, if feasible.
h) Printed forms with the following details: Name, Age, Gender, Occupation, Education,
Email, WhatsApp (mobile) number, Area of residence (full address in not required –
this is just to facilitate grouping according to the area they stay in) and what is he/she
interested in (list out various activities we usually have in our temple/center).
3) Have a meeting with the team on the previous day or whenever convenient and explain
to them the purpose and importance of the project. Handover the kits to them during
the same meeting, so that they are ready for the warfront beforehand and explain about
each and every item in the kit and their respective purpose.
4) How and when to start? As soon as the Rathayatra begins, the team should come in
action and should spread out in all the directions, walking alongside continuously with
the Ratha. Matajis can cover the matajis’ side and the prabhujis can approach the
prabhus (or as convenient). Begin very gently with a polished language, expressing
genuine love and concern and exhibiting the service attitude. With the like genders,
keeping your hand on their shoulders, handshaking and embracing will make them feel
completely at home.
5) Whom should they approach? Those who are well-dressed, look educated and refined,
interested in the subject, residents of aristocratic societies, big shops and showroom
owners, students, youth, parents of the school going children, principals or trustees of
the schools or collages that come one the way, etc. The other class of people can just be
given the handbills and prasaadam and can be invited verbally to the temple. The choice
is yours.
6) Create a small team of 2 members, responsible to supply the paraphernalia of the kit to
the preachers on the field, as and when required. Generally the team leader can take up
this responsibility, so as to know how the preachers are performing. A vehicle, ideally a
two wheeler, is inevitable for this purpose.
7) Don’t miss the prasadam pandal after completion of the Yatra, as many would have
come just for the prasadam. Sit beside them while they honor prasadam and note down
their details.
8) Ask the team members to write their names on each form for the purpose of
identification.
9) Finally, collect all the forms, prepare a database in an excel sheet and segregate
according to their educational level, age and the area of residence.
10) Create a follow-up team. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THIS
PROCESS. If you fail to follow them up and to keep the contacts alive, the complete
effort could be wasted. Ideally, the matajis who are soft-spoken and having
sophisticated language are the best for this purpose. You may contact us for further
training or complete guidance on the follow-up system.
11) Thereafter, arrange various step by step outreach and fundamental training
programs like Discover Your Self, The Gita Program, etc. and gradually get them to the
next level of interest and acceptance.
12) Finally, group them according to their age group, educational background or gender
and start a complete devotee training program like Bhakti-vriksha, Namahatta,
Counseling system, temple residents training, etc. according to your needs and
availability of the resources.

Before we conclude, here is another example of a successful Rathayatra Outreach, with some variations:

A festival at ISKCON Kolkata is the breeding ground of new contacts, whether it is Janmashtami or a Rathayatra. Usually a pandal is built with multiple area wise sections, so as to facilitate easy search of a Bhakti-vriksha (satsanga) program in the closest neighborhood of the visitor. As soon as the visitors enter a relevant section in the pandal, a team of devotees belonging to that area, engage them in some or the other spiritual activities like quiz or spiritual questions, award them some gifts and give Mahaprasadam and register their details, so as to follow up and invite them to the Bhakti-vriksha program going on in their area. Eventually, a huge database of contacts is generated at the end of the festival.

Hence, if you so desire, we can happily assist you at all levels, right from managing the Rathayatra Outreach Program up to the devotee training program, according to your requirements. For further assistance please send us an email at: djparajia@gmail.com or pancharatna@gmail.com

Please visit us at:

ISKCONOutreach.com and ISKCONCongregation.com

Thanking you in anticipation,

On behalf of the GBC-SPN Outreach Committee & the Congregational Development Ministry,

Your servant,

Daamodara Dhananjaya Das

Sadbhuja prabhu discusses the systematic procedure for the next stage of the embellishments for the TOVP with the architecture & design department in Pune.

The post Presentation From the TOVP Architecture and Design Department in Pune, India, with Sadbhuja Prabhu appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

O Krishna! In Your absence every moment lasts for years. The whole world seems so empty that my eyes are raining tears. When we no longer expect happiness from illusions, we naturally expect happiness from Krishna. Yet the ever-independent Krishna may or may not give it. Happiness accompanies Krishna, who comes and goes at His own sweet will. Very advanced devotees find ecstasy in separation from Krishna; beginners may struggle. Still, when Krishna leaves us, where else in creation can we turn? We must call out for Him. If fact, when we don’t feel Krishna’s presence it’s time to chant with extra determination and patience. Krishna accepts everyone, but He doesn’t collect casual devotees. He is testing our resolve. Though we experience Krishna through His holy names, we discover that He does not reveal Himself at our command. Who is this unreliable person? Do we still want Him? Continue reading "Japa And The Opening Heart
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