Planet ISKCON

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 March 2016, Durban, South Africa, Ratha Yatra Q&A: Goodness, Passion and Ignorance)

I have one short story. It is a story I made up myself but I think it is quite nice. Once, there was a group of people who lived in an oasis in the desert. In this oasis, they had their enjoyment, they had their variety of things – camel milk, dates and some bananas; or bananas and dates and camel milk; or camel milk with bananas and dates; dried bananas; camel milkshake – but that was it. So they were milking their varieties and this oasis was known as the “Oasis of Sense Gratification”.

One day a stranger came in and he brought a whole philosophy with him about a green land which is somewhere else. As proof, he brought these fruits that no one had ever tasted – alphonso mangos… you know, delicious and sweet!

People were all excited and sure enough, one day the stranger said, “So, is anybody interested in going to the green land?”
Well, some people said, “Yeah.”
Others said, “Ah, you know, these things come from another oasis; there is no green land. Do not let him pull the wool over your eyes. He is after your money!”

But people went. They went into that dry desert because when you want to go from an oasis to a green land, you have to go through a dry desert first. So they went through the dry desert where there was no more sense gratification – the desert of austerity where the hot sun of lust was burning on their heads.

Some people went crazy and just ran off into the desert, they just could not take it! Others went back. But a few stayed and they got to the next oasis which was the oasis of the mode of goodness. In that oasis of the mode of goodness, people did not want material life. No alcohol and all those horrible sinful activities! Oh, no! They were enjoying spiritual life there in the oasis of goodness.

Anyway, the stranger came and said, “This oasis of goodness is not good enough.”
People said, “Oh no, it is good enough for me. I am very happy here. I do not want anything else. We have a nice spiritual life and we are happy with it.”
“No,” the stranger said. “Now you have to go back into the desert.”
“Back into the desert? Are you out of your mind? It is comfy here.”
“No, back into the desert. But this time you go to help people who are out there in the desert.”

Then those who did that, they saw that the landscape was changing and gradually it was turning more and more green and those who dedicated their lives to giving others the fruits of transcendental knowledge, they reached the green land at the end! Anyway, this is a story which illustrates a little bit about our relationship with the three modes of material nature.

New TOVP Phone App Goes Live!
Everything can be used in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even modern technology. The TOVP Team happily announces the creation and roll-out of the new TOVP phone App, now available for Androids and iPhone.
With the aim of keeping devotees informed about the progress of the TOVP literally right at their fingertips, the new free TOVP App gives everyone access to features such as news updates, links to the website, photos, Youtube Channel and Facebook Page, TOVP social wall, and even a donation link. Future links will include the up-and-coming TOVP online store.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/gjxqVl

Harinama and book distribution in Tel Aviv, Israel (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas and fulfilled everything required. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.33.7 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/tCajp9

ISKCON Auckland NZ: Kirtana program with Madhava (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra without offenses, one increases his love for Krishna. As stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, preme pum-artho mahan: one’s main concern should be to increase one’s attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to increase one’s love for Him. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.3.24 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/2nJ7LE

​Home program at Singapore

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Lord Ramacandra was the eldest son of Maharaja Dasaratha, and He was loved by all of the citizens in the state. According to the Vedic system, when one reaches a certain age he retires from worldly duties and responsibilities and devotes himself fully to God consciousness, or Krsna consciousness. Maharaja Dasaratha wanted to retire as king and install his son, Ramacandra, as his successor. But on the eve of Rama's coronation, because of some past events, Maharaja Dasaratha was obliged to ask Him to go into the forest in exile, to fulfill a promise that the king had made. And Lord Ramacandra, as the ideal son, immediately accepted His father's order without hesitation or lamentation. Still, everyone in the kingdom loved Rama so much that they wanted to accompany Him into the forest, but Lord Rama replied, "No, if you all come into the forest with me, what will happen to the kingdom? You all must remain in Ayodhya." Rama's brother Laksmana, however, was so attached to Him that he couldn't bear being separated from the Lord, and the Lord agreed that he could come with Him. Similarly, the Lord's wife, Sita, wanted to follow her husband into the forest and serve Him in His difficult position, and Lord Rama agreed for her to accompany Him. Then, while they were in the forest, a very powerful demon, Ravana, kidnapped Sita and abducted her to his kingdom called Lanka. Continue reading "Rama-navami
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Krsna Sundari dd: We are looking for a full-time pujari to join our team serving Sri Sri Radha Madhava.

Experience is preferred but we will consider a trainee if you are enthusiastic, clean, tidy & punctual. You need to be an E.C. citizen, second-initiated & have a recommendation from a temple president or GBC. We need a minimum commitment of six months.

We can offer you your own room, Wi-Fi & cover expenses. Other terms & conditions are negotiable.
The temple is a grade two listed building set in an acre of gardens.

For further information contact Krsna Sundari dasi at pujaribelfast@gmail.com

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A Flow Of Nectar in China (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Our first few days in China have been packed with programs. Once again I am amazed how kirtan melts the hearts of people everywhere, regardless of what country they are from. Here in Beijing our guests, most of whom are coming for the first time, listen attentively and chant and dance in ecstasy. And Srila Prabhupada’s books are flowing out like nectar.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/M1ofdd

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Vaishnava Film Awards! (13 min video)
Please enjoy watching the first part of the ceremony that took part in Mayapur. There are clips of the winner videos and their creators such as Lauris Brr, Ananta Vrindavan, Tamal Krishna Das, Vijay Radhika.
Also special thanks to Nrsmhananda (iTV) and Vasudeva (BhakTV) Prabhus for organizing the ceremony! And of course Alena Filatova and Katia Kuzmina for assisting at the ceremony itself.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/xcwuEH

By Nila Kamal das

Often referred to as ‘DevBhumi’ or the ‘Land of the Demigods’; Dharamsallah plays host to serene beauty seldom found in the corners of the globe. Throughout the year this small city of 50,000 is flooded with tourists looking to enjoy the fine view of the snowcapped Himalayas and the cool mountain weather. Located in Himachal Pradesh in the district of Kangra, Dharamsallah is home to the world renowned noble laureate and ‘living God’ Dalai Lama. Given that the literal translation of Dharamsallah is ‘Place of Religion’, it is no surprise that the residents here are by nature pious and religious.

For more photos please go to the link: https://picasaweb.google.com/110438247584390173216/JagannathaMakesHisAppearanceInTheLandOfTheDemigods

Local devotee Bhakta Abhinandan, under the guidance of His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaj, planned a grand Ratha Yatra festival on the 8th of April 2016 for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath.

Maharaj along with devotees from various countries gathered in Dharamsallah a week before the date of the Ratha in order to get everyone into the spirit of the festival and to advertise the event. Devotees visited the main monastery of Dalai Lama to invite him to the RathaYatra as a guest of honour but unfortunately he was travelling and would return a few days after the festival had finished.There was daily harinam sankirtan, book distribution and flyer distribution to let others know about the event.After returning and taking some rest, devotees would attend the evening program starting at 5pm, which included kirtan and bhajans, Jagannath Katha given by various speakers and ecstatic Gaura arati.

“It doesn’t matter if you can or cannot establish a temple there, but if you can introduce the Rathayatra, surely it will be a great success. So try to execute this will as far as possible.”Letter to Yamuna, 27th May 1969

The day before the festival, an interactive seminar was held at ITI College Dharamsallah. The principal, although Sikh was very receptive to the devotees, to the extent of inviting the devotees to the college whenever present in Dharamsallah. After a lengthy question and answer session, 450 cups of delicious sweet rice mahaprasad were distributed to the students. Devotees came back from the program enthused for tomorrow’s big event.

“Try to recruit some of the intelligent class of students to take up this KrsnaConciousness philosophy and study it carefully.”

On the morning of the festival, a Yajna was performed to invoke auspiciousness and the mercy of Lord Jagannath. Maharaj then gave a short speech on the importance of Ratha Yatra. At 10am Their Lordships were brought to the local Laxmi Narayan temple, the starting point of the parade. As Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra mounted Their’ chariot, kirtan reached new heights and all were floating in an ocean of bliss. The district counselor took out some time from duties to attend the program. After he offered a short arati ceremony to Jagannath, Maharaj presented him with some of Srila Prabhupada’s books as a token of gratitude. The chariot was elegantly adorned with fragrant flowers which captivated the attention of the onlookers. Beautiful rangoli designs made by our team of enthusiastic matajis added a special flavor to the spiritual scene. Coconuts were smashed to the ground in the midst of conch shells being blown in order to remove any inauspiciousness and impediments in the course of the event. Finally Their Lordships started travelling through the streets of Dharamsallah whilst all looked on with wonder and delight. Maharaj was extremely enthusiastic throughout the festival; after leading a short but sweet kirtan, he started personally distributing books to the public. The Lord’s chariot stopped at various shops and accepted fruits and sweets from the owners which were later distributed to the public.Many people came out their houses to lovingly receive the Lord and offer an arati ceremony. There was fired up kirtan throughout the duration of the festival with both matajis and prabhus dancing ecstatically. This enthused the book distributors to give out more books.

As the chariot reached its final destination an Arati ceremony was performed to Their Lordships and a concluding speech was delivered by Maharaj. A sumptuous feast was served to all who came and participated in the event. A grand total of 460 books were distributed including 108 maha big books.

“Make the Rathayatra festival very great success. This will be a great introduction in your city and people will appreciate it.”Letter to Shyamasundara, 4th May 1967

Devotees were very much overjoyed when they found that the RathaYatra made the front page of the local newspaper.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Subhag Swami Maharaj for taking time out his busy schedule to attend this event and inspiring all the devotees in Jagannath’s service. We thank those devotees who came from different places such as: Australia, Spain,France, Italy, Indonesia, England, Armenia, Bangladesh and across India to attend the festival. We offer our heartfelt gratitude to Bhakta Abhinandan and his dedicated family. Their hard work and perseverance allowed the program to run smoothly. We pray to Srila Prabhupada that we can hold this festival for the years to come, thus becoming instruments in the Lord’s hands being engaged in spreading the message of Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan movement.

Jagannath Swami ki Jay

Ratha Yatra Mahotsava ki Jay

Srila Prabhupada ki Jay

When it comes to the Ramayana and the history of Lord Rama, there have been numerous authors who have accepted the Ramayana as a history of ancient events. For example, the first Governor General of India, Sri Rajaji, wrote on the Ramayana and called it a history, as also did the English Indologist Sir William Jones. Various other western authors have made a study of the culture and history of the Ramayana, such as Philip Lutgendorf in his book Rama's Story in Shiva's City, California University and others. Continue reading "Lord Rama: Fact or Fiction
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Everything can be used in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even modern technology. The TOVP Team happily announces the creation and roll-out of the new TOVP phone App, now available for Androids and iPhone.

With the aim of keeping devotees informed about the progress of the TOVP literally right at their fingertips, the new free TOVP App gives everyone access to features such as news updates, links to the website, photos, Youtube Channel and Facebook Page, TOVP social wall, and even a donation link. Future links will include the up-and-coming TOVP online store.

Please share this announcement with other devotees so everyone can have immediate access to information and updates about the most important spiritual project in this material universe.

The TOVP Team

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We, as conditioned souls, tend toward impersonalism. Every conditioned soul has two conditioned tendencies: one is toward sense gratification, and the other is toward impersonalism. So we carry impersonal conceptions with us even when we come to devotional service, and our impersonal conceptions may influence us to deal in impersonal ways even though we know in theory that we all are eternal persons and that Krsna is the supreme eternal person. Still, in practice we may tend to act in impersonal ways, because we may still have impersonal ideas that devotees should not feel sorrow or anger—or any “negative” emotion. And we may try to avoid responsibility for how our behavior affects other devotees by saying, “Prabhu, why are you getting upset? You shouldn’t get upset.” Although there may be truth to the notion that under certain circumstances a devotee should not become upset, we also should not act in such a way as to upset the prabhu. “Prabhu” means “master.” We are meant to see each other as masters and ourselves as servants. So we shouldn’t say, “Now, Prabhu, don’t get upset.” One wouldn’t tell one’s master not to get upset. Rather, we should say, “Oh, I am so sorry, my dear master. I am sorry that I made a mistake. I am sorry that I upset you. Please forgive me. Please rectify me.” That is the meaning of prabhu. Continue reading "The Personality of Lord Rama
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April 9. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: The Bowery Loft.
94 Bowery was a narrow, four-storey building. It had long ago been painted grey and bore the usual facing of a massive, black fire escape. A well-worn black double door, its glass panels reinforced with chicken wire, opened on to the street. The sign above the door read: “A.I.R. 3rd and 4th”, indicating that artists in residence occupied those floors. Harvey Cohen’s loft on the top floor of 94 Bowery was an open space, almost 100 feet long (from west to east) and twenty-five feet wide. It received a good amount of sunlight on the east, the Bowery side, and it also had windows at the west end, as well as a skylight. The exposed rafters of the ceiling were twelve feet above the floor.
Harvey Cohen had used the loft as an art studio and racks for paintings still lined the walls. A kitchen and shower were partitioned off in the northwest corner and a room divider stood about fifteen feet in the Bowery side windows. This divider did not run from wall to wall, but was open at both ends and was several feet short of the ceiling.
It was behind this partition that Prabhupada had his personal living area. A bed and a few chairs stood near the window and Prabhupada’s typewriter sat on his metal trunk next to a small table that held his stacks of Bhagavatam manuscripts. His dhotis hung drying on a clothesline.
On the other side of the partition was a dais, about ten feet wide and five feet deep, on which Prabhupada sat during his kirtanas and lectures. The dais faced west toward the loft’s large open space – open, that is, except for a couple of rugs and an old-fashioned, solid wood table, and, on an easel, Harvey’s painting of Lord Caitanya dancing with His associates.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=7

The Bowery Loft

[ A note written a week later from publishing this: I find it fascinating to understand why certain blogs are favored over others. It remains a mystery to me. I think that sometimes I am misunderstood as favoring a casual approach to bhakti. I am not. I am promoting pure devotional service, being fully engaged in our bhakti practices, and aspiring for the highest stages of prema. However, speaking from my long experience and observation of others, I am stressing that devotees shouldn't neglect or repress their physical/emotional requirements in the name of spiritual advancement. I have seen too many devotees leave on account of this extreme position.

Thus when I write, I also speak with a certain caution, that although we should stretch ourselves, we should be careful not to break, or go beyond our limits, and his requires considerable maturity--and sometimes we may even attract a certain disease, to force us to slow down and also do our personal inner work. As I mentioned in other blogs, giving and receiving must go on simultaneously, or we will often "burn out." I just want to be very clear and I hope you will think about why I write as I do.]
WAITING FOR ETERNITY WE FORGET TO LIVE TODAY: When I was a new devotee I often reflected that within a few years that special flower airplane would take me back to Godhead, and so I had no worries. Ten years later I realized my thinking was wishful and I had to deal with living in the world. Gaudiya Vaishnavism, or living with a consciousness or remembrance of Krishna, isn’t life denying but life affirming. In the beginning we may be overly anxious to get out of the material world to the extent that aren't able to be present and aware of our life lessons and what is required for the long haul of a life time of service.

For those who came to this path of bhakti in great distress, having bottomed out materially, our personal necessities take a while to embrace because we are able to put them on hold to facilitate our spiritual practices, and then we may continue to be more more comfortable denying, than facing, them. In such a condition we relish hearing how bad the material world is, which confirms that we aren’t crazy for experiencing our distress, frustration, or depression in what appears to be a pointless, miserable world. However, there are two side to sharing our spiritual lives--one is the shortcomings of material life, and two, the bliss of devotional service and chanting the holy name. Both are important and have to be embraced in a balanced, mature way, depending on our stage of life.

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Recently I have been dealing with some difficult situations, and although I am familiar with what Srila Prabhupada and our scriptures and previous acaryas have said about such cases, I still wasn’t sure if my present approach was actually in line with Srila Prabhupada’s will and I wanted some confirmation. In this mood, I began listening to a talk Srila Prabhupada gave about Lord Chaitanya’s meeting with the Mayavadi sannyasis in Varanasi—not a likely place, I thought, to find an answer to my question. But soon enough I got an answer:

“ei-mate tan-sabara ksami’ aparadha
sabakare krsna-nama karila prasada

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu excused all these offenders. Anyone who is godless, he is offender. So when they chanted Krishna Krishna and accepted the Vedanta philosophy according to the explanation of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He excused them. That is the significance of Lord Chaitanya. He is very merciful. He excuses. Without excuse, how He can deliver the fallen souls of this age? Their condition is very precarious. Their duration of life is very small and they are not very intelligent, very slow to understand the importance of spiritual life. . . . So there is no other alternative than to excuse them. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu excused them.” (Talk on Cc Adi 7.149–171, March 18, 1967, San Francisco)

In all my time with Srila Prabhupada, I never heard him say, “Haribol!” and I presumed he had reservations about it. But in this early lecture, he spoke about “Haribol” in a most charming and endearing way:

 “bahu tuli’ prabhu bale—bala hari hari
hari-dhvani kare loka svarga-martya bhari’

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s special feature, as you see in the picture, He would simply raise His hands and ask anybody to chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. And people will, in the crowd, they will also respond to Lord Chaitanya. So in this way, at Benares He was enjoying.

bahu tuli’ prabhu bale—bala hari hari
hari-dhvani kare loka svarga-martya bhari’

And the sound of  ‘Hare Krishna, Haribol,’ . . . There are two slogans. One, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. And another, short, is Haribol, Haribol. You can practice also that. Haribol.”

A devotee responded, “Haribol.”

Prabhupada continued, “Yes. Haribol. That is a shortcut of Hare Krishna. Yes. Haribol. Haribol means ‘the sound of Hari, or the Lord.’ Haribol. So whenever there was some greeting, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to answer, raising His hands, ‘Haribol.’ ”

Such is Lord Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada’s mercy.

Hare Krishna.

Haribol.

Yours in their service,
Giriraj Swami

Not Always Rosy!
Bhaktimarga Swami: I had met Jaya Vijay at a festival in the Berkley area some years ago and had marvelled at his working efforts. He was a padayatra (pilgrim) leader for 10 years from 1986 to 1996. He is indeed inspiring. I wanted to include him in this blog about the purifying nature of walking. An article appeared in the recent issue of Padayatra Worldwide:
“When you watch a Padayatra India slideshow everything seems rosy, but in fact, it was very difficult. Walking the highways in India is no place for a lady or gentleman. Some of the truck drivers are very rough – sometimes they go off the road or hit the oxen. We got malaria and dysentery. When the devotees get ill, it’s difficult to recover and keep moving at the same time. They have to stay on the tractor. They don’t have a private room. Maybe once or twice a month we might get a private room. Usually we stayed in open schools, where there was no privacy at all. People watched you when you took your bath or passed stool. Sadhu means “open book” – it is another definition of a sadhu – there is nothing to hide. You have to learn to sit down on your mat and be in your own mental world and do your own thing. Sometimes it’s hard to do it because you’re tired and you have people looking at you, laughing at you, joking about you. It’s a place to learn tolerance; it is not a joke. I have seen many devotees blow it or hit each other, not out of contempt but because they’d just had enough. I have seen lots of sannyasis go crazy with the kids. It is very difficult. Some devotees got injured. There were broken wrists and ankles, one devotee was hit by a truck, and another from Finland died when he fell under the tractor in South India. Sometimes we present the rosy side of padayatra, but to pick the roses there are many thorns, and sometimes you get pricked. It’s not a piece of cake. In the long run it’s very purifying – the most purifying program in our whole ISKCON society.”
(The Most Purifying Programs, by Jaya Vijaya dasa, Padayatra Newsletter, 2016)