Planet ISKCON – Page 1103 – Websites from the ISKCON Universe

When Mayor Rob Ford Chanted “Hare Krishna”
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By Kevala Bhakti das

With recent news of the tragic passing of former Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, many devotees of Toronto’s Hare Krishna Community have been fondly recalling how the then-Mayor visited our annual Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra) in 2014.

It was the second day of our grand two-day annual event on Centre Island and word quickly got around that the Mayor had arrived at the festival site. He first visited the Deity booth, diligently removed his shoes and then took darshan (audience) of Lord Jagannatha (Lord Krishna). He was then garlanded by one of our pujaris (priests).

Mayor Ford was then brought to the main stage where he shared a proclamation from the City of Toronto, honouring our annual Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra). The highlight was the Mayor enthusiastically yelling out to the crowd, “Hare Krishna!” and receiving a jubilant “Hare Krishna” back as seen at the end of the video below!

Mayor Ford then toured the rest of the festival site, indulged in some prasadam (sanctified vegetarian food) and shook hands with what seemed to be an endless throng of people!

Toronto’s Hare Krishna community extends our prayers and condolences to the members of the Ford family during this difficult time. We hope that those who are mourning the loss of Rob Ford can take solace in knowing that he most certainly received great spiritual benefit by chanting the words “Hare Krishna” with all of his heart.

Festival of Inspiration ISKCON 50 Special Packed With Variety
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By Madhava Smullen

It’s hard to beat Festival of Inspiration for sheer variety.

This year’s ISKCON 50 special edition of the Appalachian spiritual retreat in New Vrindaban, West Virginia will overflow with the best Krishna consciousness has to offer: seminars, kirtans, entertainment, and the tastiest prasadam this side of the spiritual world.

Hundreds of devotees from all over the East Coast of the United States and Canada are expected to pour in for the May 6^th to 8^thweekend.

Each day of the festival will begin with an extended themed Srimad Bhagavatam class. Author Yogesvara Das will speak about his new biography of Srila Prabhupada for a mainstream audience, entitled “Swami in a Strange Land.” And the class on Sunday – Mother’s Day – will focus on the importance of honoring mothers in the Vaishnava tradition.

The centerpiece of the seminars, meanwhile, will be two special panel discussions to commemorate ISKCON’s 50^th Anniversary.

“In the first, entitled ‘ISKCON 50 Years Ago,’ early Prabhupada disciples like Malati Devi, Shyamasundar Prabhu, and Yogesvara Prabhu will talk about their struggles and victories in expanding the movement, and how Prabhupada encouraged and enthused everyone,” says organizer Vrindavan Das. “They’ll be joined by Sally Agarwal, who sponsored Prabhupada when he first arrived in the U.S.”

The second panel, ISKCON’s Future in North America, will be facilitated by Gainesville Krishna House Director Kalakanatha Das and feature Varshana Swami, Vaisesika Das, educator Urmila Dasi, and more. They’ll discuss how to learn from the mistakes of the past to improve the future, how to care for the needs of current devotees, and how to reach out to more new people.

And that’s just the beginning. New Vrindaban’s own Sankirtan Das will present his Powerpoint on Prabhupada coming to America, which has been very well-received in colleges. He’ll also facilitate an open discussion on developing strategies for presenting Prabhupada to the public.

Urmila Dasi will offer practical and clear instructions for overcoming obstacles in spiritual life, setting our “compass” to the right direction, and finding the ultimate spiritual attainment.

Kalakantha Das, who has spoken out in favor of women gurus in ISKCON, will talk about the role of women in the society, and about Krishna conscious marriage.

Veteran book distributor Vaisesika Das is likely to speak about his new book, Our Family Business, in which he shares key principles and techniques of book distribution.

And ISKCON pioneer Shyamasundara Das will tell amazing stories from his upcoming book Chasing Rhinos with the Swami about ISKCON’s early days in San Francisco and London, as well as about his travels in India and Russia with Prabhupada.

As usual, parents will be able to attend these and the many other seminars on offer while their children have fun at a supervised kids’ camp with face painting, clowns and more.

At mealtimes, devotees will sit at picnic tables on the sunny lawn and socialize as they tuck into a tasty blend of Eastern and Western prasadam. There’ll be lots of healthy options such as salad and soup, as well as traditional Indian dishes and comfort food like macaroni; while many of the dairy dishes will be made with the milk of protected New Vrindaban cows.

In the evenings, everyone will focus on singing the Lord’s praises. Friday will see the continuation of a bhajan program that became an instant hit when it was introduced last year.

“Devotees rarely get to sing bhajans, because at most kirtan festivals they only chant the Hare Krishna mantra,” says Vrindavan. “So they’ll appreciate the chance to sing traditional songs of the Vaishnava Acharyas with some of the best bhajan singers in ISKCON like Agnideva Prabhu, Havi Prabhu and Ekendra Prabhu.”

Participants will get to immerse themselves in the Maha-mantra too, however, with a Nama-Yajna on Saturday evening.

The grande finale will follow on Sunday, with the hugely popular Transcendental Entertainment show at midday. Ekendra Das will lampoon both ISKCON and material life through song as his comedic alter ego Yama Niyama Das Brahmachari, Bhaktimarga Swami and his team will bring one of their epic dramas, and more top performers are yet to be announced.

After the show, a traditional Sunday Feast of rice, dahl, subjis, pakoras, chutney, puris, sweet rice, and gulabjamuns will be served. Devotees will return to their homes satisfied, relaxed, and yes, inspired.

“This year’s festival is a great way to celebrate ISKCON’s 50^th anniversary, with so many excellent speakers covering the achievements of the last 50 years and motivating us about what we can do in the next 50,” says Vrindavan.

“It’s also a wonderful opportunity for participants to get inspired in Krishna consciousness and then return to their communities and enthuse others in devotional service.”

To register, please visit http://www.festivalofinspiration.net/registration/

March 26. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 26. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: “Don’t Turn Your Attention, Just Hear”
Outside the closed windows of the Room 307, the late winter night had fallen. Prabhupada’s words are punctuated with the muted sounds of car horns and occasional sirens from the street, and sometimes the startling chords of a lonely fog horn on the Hudson. Although bare, the room is warm. Prabhupada is speaking on the second chapter of Bhagavad-gita.
Now Arjuna is perplexed. He is perplexed about whether to fight or not to fight. After seeing in front of him his relatives, with whom he was to fight, he was perplexed. And there was some argument with Krishna.
Now here is a point: Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead….
Prabhupada’s voice is earnest, persuading. Sometimes his speech becomes high-pitched and breaks with urgency. His cultured British diction bears a heavy, Bengali accent.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

ISKCON 50 Meditations: March 26, 2016
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“Don’t Turn Your Attention, Just Hear”

“I’m a devotee, I don’t need morality”…
→ The Enquirer

Continuing the discussion on morality and bhakti…

The conclusion that in all circumstances, abandoning of duties is an immoral act, caused confusion not only b/c it appears we hear to the contrary from sastra BUT also b/c several devotees online have made personal decision in life which, hitherto, was thought of as a sacrifice for the cause of devotion, but now is being thought of not only as immoral but as the committing of aparadha, the most egregious type of obstacle to bhakti. It’s this conclusion I find not yet compelling.

I don’t think my replies were as black and white as that, “in all circumstances…” Someone asked if it was immoral to take sick days when you are not sick, and I said that was not immoral. Someone asked if it is OK to suspend or abandon your participation in family duties, I said it is not immoral if the family approves and gives blessings.

Everything does have to be evaluated on an individual basis. And we should not evaluate with the conclusion preconceived, “how can I understand this in a manner that will justify my previous decisions.” Our attitude in studying shastra should be, “How can I conform to the supreme will, better, better as still better than whatever I have accomplished so farl?”

Your reading of the verses that RG quotes in this section–18.66, 1.5.17, etc.–makes sense b/c bhakti is also dharma and/or the soul of dharma as you have poetically expressed. Still, it is not the only reading of those verses.

Let us read these verses carefully, now.

The section begins at the 63rd verse of the second wave and ends at the 71st.

It is at the very end of the section describing the adhikāra for sādhana, so that is the focus of the topic. It is not exactly focused on the topic of whether the bhakta is moral or immoral, but the exact focus is very related: whether a bhakta requires purification from any process besides bhakti.

The key point of the section is that bhakti is self-sufficient and produces morality and purity, and a sādhaka should not feel that they need some other self-help book, psychology session, time-management system, stress-relief pills, religion, knowledge, yoga, etc. They do not need any other purification process mentioned in the Veda, because bhakti itself is the most effective purification process.

Therefore 63 begins the section by saying that they should stick to the main sādhanas. Those deeds are what purifies them. They don’t need any other karma, any other occupation, any other duty, any other religion/morality.

64 clarifies that a bhakta does not intentionally commit any impure, immoral act – but if, by mistake he or she does, then no reparations outside of the main practices of bhakti are required, because these practices are the most efficacious reparations in all the Veda (see the first quality of bhakti, kleśaghni — it is the most effective purifier).

65 is quoted to show that different Vedic prescriptions pertain to different individuals. It is not that every prescription in the Veda has to be followed by every person. The prescriptions are given according to the capacity of the patient, or seen from the other angle, the severity of the disease. If the patient is capable of sādhana-bhakti, then he or she is duty bound to religiously adhere to the main practices of sādhana and duty bound not to “perform the duty meant for another” (see Gītā) by dabbling in the prescriptions meant for those qualified only for jñāna processes, or only for karma processes.

66 is quoted to show that not performing duties meant for others is not immoral. One must perform the duties that apply to oneself. Thus if a bhakta does not perform the karmas required of those who are not qualified for bhakti – there is no fault.

67 explains the same: karmas and jñānas are meant to elevate the person to bhakti so once there is qualification for bhakti there is then no further need to adhere to the karmas and jñānas, in fact it would be a hindrance to further progress. The reason is not that morality and knowledge is unimportant all of the sudden. The reason is that bhakti itself produces moraltiy and knowledge more powerfully than any other process – if a person is qualified to really do it.

Bhanu Swami’s footnote on the commentary on this book lends a great deal of support to what I am trying to explain here. He says that Śrīla Sārasvatī Prabhupāda commented on this quote to explain that one who takes shelter in Krishna will automatically develop all the 27 moral principles listed in in 11.11.29-31.

It also references Bhāgavatam 5.18.12 (yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā…) to prove the same point: all good qualities result from bhakti so there is no need of another process.

68 is quoted to substantiate that doing bhakti absolves one for requiring to do the other karmas in the Veda. Śrī Jīva’s comment shows that the main theme here continues to be: Bhakti destroys sinfulness, and therefore destroys the need for other means of purification.

69 is quoted from Gītā to show that it is actually an injunction, a moral principle, for the person qualified for pure bhakti to give up other paths of purification and take exclusively to the aṅgas of sādhana.

70 is quoted saying that a bhakta is already pure, so there is no need of purification.

71 is quoted, clarifying that any impurity in a bhakta is a flaw, a mistake, unintentional – but doesn’t need any other remedy besides bhakti practice itself.

The important point to take home: morality and wisdom are not unnecessary for a bhakta, but bhakti produces them more effectively than the processes of karma and jñāna do. Therefore, if one is capable of doing pure bhakti, it would be a shame not to, for by practicing bhakti one develops the most profound morality and wisdom.

I definitely think it would be wrong to say this section means that a bhakta can do immoral things and doesn’t need to worry about that. The section shows that bhakti makes a person more moral than any other. Bhakti is the supreme purifier. And even if a practitioner makes mistakes and sometimes does immoral things, they don’t need to do anything other than their bhakti-sādhana to rectify that.

To the very specific case of people who have renounced their families without blessing to do so… this is a very dangerous thing to do. If you have done this you should

(A) Do your sādhanas with 1,000 times the dedication, depth and sincerity than anyone else – because everything is riding on the bet that you were correct in assessing that you had the adhikāra to do what you did. So you should best make sure that you deeply develop that adhikāra to practice niṣṭhā-bhajan – for that is the platform you have decided to adopt as your svadharma. If you are falling short of niṣṭhā-bhajan, you are falling short of what you are supposed to be. You shouldn’t ever allow that situation to persist.

(B) Consider whether it is not feasible to be more considerate of the people to whom you have abandoned responsibilities. Have you fully disclosed yourself to them, explaining your heart, and requesting their understanding, if not agreement? Is it actually required that you cut them off entirely? Could you find some way to show compassion to them yet also still act on the level of bhakti for which you have adhikāra?

In the cases of people like Śrī Sanātana Goswāmī, their adhikāra for uttamā-bhakti was dizzyingly high, and still they tried to obtain blessings. When those blessings would not be given, they were not wrong for pursuing the dharmas meant for their adhikāra – constant exclusive engagement in sādhanas with absolute renunciation of all other concerns. Nor did they ever fail to live up to that standard.

Hare Krishna.

Your servant,

Vraja Kishor

Tagged: Dharma, ethics, Morality

Sacred Sounds
→ travelingmonk.com

Today was the first day of the Sacred Sounds Festival at New Govardhana in Australia. Set in the beautiful rural countryside of New South Wales over 600 devotees enjoyed a day of classes, kirtans and delicious prasadam. All the action was perfectly captured by our dear Anatnta Vrindavan dasa.

Festival of Inspiration ISKCON 50 Special Packed With Variety
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